Living With the TekRMD

Adjusting to Usage

Adapting to Opportunities

It all started when...

By using the Tek RMD you can dramatically improve the way you live in your indoor space.  To get the very best out of it though, you may need to think a little bit differently and potentially make some changes to your indoor environment. 

One positive fact we can state right away is that the Tek RMD is both shorter and narrower than a wheelchair so that if you can navigate through your indoor environment with your existing wheelchair, you can certainly do that much more easily with the Tek RMD. 

After some time you may find that you need to use your wheelchair much less indoors - you will be using your Tek RMD much more as it simply allows you to do more. 

The issue we need to consider is how best to get on and off the device.  You can transfer from your wheelchair to the Tek RMD but in order to do so, generally you will need to have a wheelchair with at least tilt-up foot rests and removable sides.  If you have fixed foot rests its likely that you can't get the Tek RMD close enough. 

Having visited lots of clients at home we have seen many scenarios that would actually make transfers from any device problematic.  One of the really nice aspects of the Tek RMD is that transfers onto it can be a lot easier than transfers into a typical wheelchair.  However, in order to make this a reality the current nature of your environment should be considered.  Whether you are going to be using the Tek RMD at home or at an office it is recommended that a competent healthcare professional has recently undertaken an environment assessment of the premises.  Are you clear about what types of situations you want to use the device in?  Do you want to be able to transport the device?  How will this be done? 

To get onto the Tek RMD you are going to need to bring it to you, perhaps using the remote control, and the "tail" of the device needs to go under the surface, (perhaps a bed or chair)you are sitting on.  This means that there must be sufficient clearance underneath.  For example, if the chair you are on has a base that extends right to the floor this is going to be an issue because you wont be able to safely get your feet onto the device and the seat cushion in place because of this base keeping the Tek RMD too far away from you. 

Also, if you try to transfer from a really soft surface you might have problems getting the cushion in place.  When we visit people at home now to demonstrate the Tek RMD we will typically bring a slide sheet and a suitable chair so that lack of suitable equipment doesn't limit the demonstration. 

Will you use the Tek RMD to transfer on/off the WC?  If so we need to consider the transfer areas and turning circle that are available.  Using the Tek RMD is is certainly possible to transfer on and off a combined wheeled/commode and shower chair - this can go over the WC and in and out of the chair.