DATE: Saturday, June 7, 1997                TAG: 9706070285

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   74 lines

QUADRIPLEGIC DESIGNS A BETTER WHEELCHAIR VA. BEACH MAN'S COMPANY FOCUSES ON THE PARTICULAR NEEDS OF THE DISABLED.

The lemonade that Richard Cowan made when he was handed lemons 10 years ago is tasting mighty sweet these days.

Left a quadriplegic after slipping on wet boat steps and breaking his neck, Cowan is launching his own company to produce a wheelchair that keeps users from developing bedsores.

His aptly named Radical Custom Chairs Inc. will begin manufacturing The Boss this summer. The wheelchair has a patent pending because it tilts back a full 90 degrees, offering complete pressure relief to the buttocks.

Several health care professionals - doctors, physical therapists, rehabilitation engineers and sellers of health care equipment - have endorsed The Boss. The expected price tag is $16,500, mid-range for wheelchairs.

About 7,800 Americans suffer spinal-cord injuries every year, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. Half of the injuries result in paraplegia and half in quadriplegia, according to association figures.

The Boss fills a void for patients, says Norfolk plastic surgeon Robert H. Schnarrs.

``A number of spinal cord patients have told me that what is on the market is not worth a hoot,'' says Schnarrs, who treated Cowan for a bone infection a few years ago. ``Richard went one step further and decided to do something about it.''

Maury Cooke Jr., operations manager for Rehab Health Care, one of the biggest suppliers of health assistance equipment on the East Coast, says that Cowan has a ``fairly unique'' product.

``One thing that sets it apart is the tilt you get is more than any other wheelchair,'' says Cooke. ``The biggest thing is coming from a user's perspective - Richard realized that someone might want to have fun.''

Cowan's motivation for designing The Boss was personal. Six years ago he acquired a bedsore from not shifting positions every two hours, which is what doctors recommend. The resulting medical treatment and six months of physical therapy cost the state - in other words Medicaid - $66,000.

``The state bought me three wheelchairs that all broke down,'' says Cowan, 43, who is divorced and lives with his 17-year-old son in a Timberlake townhouse. ``I've been a mechanic all my life and realized it might be possible to build a chair with a 90-degree tilt.''

So Cowan enlisted his brother Gary and several friends, and they created three different prototypes over six years. The one Cowan settled on has oversized outdoor tires (along with a can of instant flat-tire repair), strapped leather arm and leg rests, a top speed of 12 mph, two 224-volt electric motors and two of the ``biggest batteries they make.''

Already, there are plans to downsize the wheelchair for pediatric patients.

When Cowan took one of the earlier prototype wheelchairs to rehabilitation engineer Michael D. Anderson of the state department of rehabilitative services, Anderson was more intrigued with Cowan's attitude than his technological prowess. Cowan has since refined the prototype that Anderson saw.

``This represents consumer input - Richard was not willing to accept the status quo,'' says Anderson. ``It is a patentable product in that it changes some of what already exists. I really like this thing from an attitudinal standpoint.''

The 10th anniversary of the fall that broke Cowan's neck is June 28. While one facet of his life is gone, a much better part has replaced it, he says. Cowan never graduated from high school and ended up in reform school at the age of 14. He broke his neck, Cowan readily admits, because he was smoking dope and drinking.

``You wouldn't have wanted to know me before the accident,'' he says. ``I can honestly say I'm glad I broke my neck. When I wake up in the morning I say, `Thank you, God, for letting me be here.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

D. KEVIN ELLIOTT photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Richard Cowan has developed a wheelchair that keeps users from

developing bedsores. The chair can travel up to 12 mph and tilts to

relieve pressure on the body. KEYWORDS: WHEELCHAIR WHEEL CHAIR

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu