Pushin' On: UAB Spinal Cord Injury Model System Digital Newsletter Volume 34 | Number 2 | Page 4

TECHNOLOGY WATCH
PediaLift Crib
For many parents who use a wheelchair, transferring
their baby to and from their crib can be difficult. Not
anymore.
The PediaLift Crib is specifically designed for parents
who use wheelchairs to easily transfer their baby. The
crib sits low to the ground and looks like any other crib,
but it also rises with the touch of a button on the wireless
remote to transform into a wheelchair accessible crib.
When the PedialLift Crib is in the elevated position,
the front-face crib gates open allowing easy access to
reach in and hold the baby. The undercarriage features
an open air design, free of obstructions making it an ideal
wheelchair accessible crib.
Controlled access is another key feature. The crib gates
can only be unlocked by the remote or wireless token (can
be worn as a wrist band), so the gates cannot be opened
by other children.
PediaLift customers often utilize third party funding
sources to assist with the purchase of their crib. The
PediaLift Crib is considered a Class II Medical Device

iBOT 2.0
In 1999 the world was introduced to the Independence
iBOT 3000 Mobility System. At that time it was the most
technologically advanced power “wheelchair” ever made.
• A unique 4-wheel drive system allowed easy travel
through sand and over rough terrain.
• One pair of wheels rose above the other to balance
on two wheels. The ‘iBALANCE’ software controls
a gyroscope maintained the equilibrium to travel in
this “standing” mode.
• The two sets of wheels rotated over each other to
climb stairs.
Ten years later, however, the iBOT went out of
production for cost reasons. Insurance paid little, if any,
of the $25,000 price tag.
In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration reclassified
the iBOT from a Class III to a Class II medical device. This
lowers regulatory controls and expenses and opened the
door for a next generation iBOT.
Toyota announced in May of 2016 that it is financing an
iBOT reboot. Although the original iBOT is still advanced
even by today’s standards, the inventor, Dean Kamen, is
improving the new model. “With advances in computers,
the advances in solid-state gyros and electronics ... we
can take a hundred pounds out of it. We can take a lot of
cost out of it. We can improve it,” he said.
No release date is set, but Kamen predicts the new
model will be released in “less than two years” and first
made available to wounded veterans.

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and a prescription from a licensed physician is required
to obtain a device. Customers have taken advantage of
a variety of funding sources including private insurance,
Vocational Rehabilitation, and crowd funding.