Page 18 - Mobility Management, May/June 2022

ATP Series
Tomorrow’s Wheelchairs
They also carry the perspective of caregivers. LUCI was inspired by Barry’s daughter, Katherine, a lifelong power chair rider. Katherine’s parents wanted her to move through the world more safely in her power chair, and they asked Jered, an engineer, to create technology that would help.
New to the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) space, the Deans are personally invested in what tomorrow’s technology will be able to do.
“But tomorrow is up for grabs,” said Barry, LUCI’s CEO. “We can do an article every year on what tomorrow looks like and let it be the same, like we have been. And we’ll always say, ‘Well, this is out there, someday. That is out there, but not for us.’
“We have a phrase inside our company, which is that we try to move at the speed of the need, and the need is great. And for kids who are like my daughter was — who are young, maybe they’re
1 year old — they are going to need some sort of intervention, which can change their entire future. How long do we let certain gatekeepers limit the innovation for intervention?”
While he believes “clinicians and a vast majority of salespeople” joined the industry to help people, he added, “The system as it is right now isn’t succeeding. You’ve got [right-to- repair] laws being kicked around in Colorado and Massachusetts that are saying it’s not working. Regardless of whether that’s the
solution, our industry is making national media for service issues and delinquencies.
“It’s time to say, okay, who are we going to be? And that shouldn’t just be answered by the private equity firm that owns one company. That should be answered by these people whose heart is in it. The clinicians, and some of the salespeople, and most of all the users and their caregivers — that’s a voice that’s not always at the table.”
A HESITATION TO COLLABORATE?
Jered Dean, LUCI’s CTO, has worked in the aerospace, medical dialysis, and automotive industries, among others.
“Before LUCI started, I got the opportunity to work in a lot of industries as a consultant to help bring people innovation,” he said. “As you come into this industry, it’s an interesting one in that there’s sort of a default to no — which I’ve seen a little in other industries, but it’s strong here. There’s a fear-based default to no that most of the companies here have.”
Jered also referenced “these mythical stories where usually the bad guy is either funding or some sort of regulation. Before I worked in this industry, those regulatory bodies were actually seen as partners. And I still see them that way. It’s interesting that the industry doesn’t.”
Rehab & accessibility conversations. Now portable.
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