Page 29 - Mobility Management, November 2017

using alternative drive controls.” 4Front’s other calling card is its
new SRS (Smooth Ride Suspension) system, featuring four coil-over, gas-charged shocks. Brislin said motocross and dirtbike racing were the system’s inspiration.
“We looked at that industry to see what they’re doing that allows riding their dirtbikes and jumping over obstacles while still dissipating all that shock. We went with this kind of suspension, and it’s been a night- and-day difference in how the chair drives and the overall ride quality.”
Brislin said the SRS system can prevent some everyday vibrations from reaching the power chair user.
“Whenever you go over an
obstacle (with front-wheel drive), it does tend to be a little jarring to the client,” he acknowledged. “It tends to
make the client move or get repositioned. Knocking Group 3 clients a little bit out of position can mean
the difference between being able to reach the drive control or not. That independent SRS dissipates a lot of shock and bounce before it gets to the person sitting in the chair. It keeps them stable, it allows the chair to be stable, and it really allows the chair to go a lot of places a lot of other Group 3 chairs can’t.”
Electronics & Powered Seating
While 4Front uses a brand-new power base, it also uses the Q-Logic 3 electronics and TRU-Balance 3 powered seating that ATPs, clinicians and technicians already know. 4Front offers static seating, tilt, or tilt + seat eleva- tion; manual recline is also available.
4Front’s all-new front-wheel-drive power base took its smooth-riding inspiration from the motocross and dirtbike industries.
And the “seat elevation at the speed of life” that Quantum Rehab has so successfully marketed? 4Front users can drive up to 3.2 mph while elevated 10", thanks to Quantum’s Safe Seat Elevation technology.
“We’ve added a lot of stability features,” Brislin said, in reference to 4Front’s seat elevation. “The suspension, in particular, allows the chair to be stable and safe.”
4Front can be coded K0848, K0849, K0856 or K0861, for standard, single or multiple power options applica- tions. Accessories include standard LED front and rear fender lights, and Brislin said that after 4Front’s initial early-October launch, “We’re going to have a couple of options and configurations in which you don’t even require the front anti-tips.” 4Front offers seat widths and depths starting at 12" and going up to 22" and a weight capacity of 300 lbs., ensuring that this front-wheel-drive offering is an option for a wide range of users.
4Front is also WC19 crash tested and compatible with EZ Lock automotive securement systems.
“We took a step back and said, ‘We need to make this innovative; we need to make this really client focused,’” Brislin said of 4Front. “Quantum has grown quite a bit over the last almost 20 years, and we want
to make sure we are giving all those product offerings. We’re giving our providers and our consumers an alter- native, if [front-wheel] is a drive-wheel position that they like or they want.
“We’re a listening company. The reason we’ve gotten to these levels of success is because of the people we listen to — our therapists and providers, and ultimately, the people driving our chairs.” m
—Laurie Watanabe
MobilityMgmt.com
MOBILITY MANAGEMENT | NOVEMBER 2017 27