University of Utah Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctor, Jeffrey Rosenbluth, MD talks about a new way for quadriplegics to enjoy freedom called the TetraSki.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News in 2022.
How did you get interested in doing something like the TetraSki?
ROSENBLUTH: So, I have a big history with adaptive recreation. Back in the mid and late ’80s, I was in college in San Diego and there was a new adaptive ski program that was starting in Big Bear, Southern California. And so I got involved with that. I was only 18 or 19 years old and I just really fell in love with the equipment and what the sports were really doing for people with disabilities, and I’ve just been hooked ever since.
What do you think adaptive sports like skiing does for someone who’s paralyzed?
ROSENBLUTH: Well, adaptive sports in general, it’s really just an extension of people’s- well, let me start again. You’re going to cut this all up and everything. So a lot of people that have a catastrophic injury or illness, a lot of times they’re quite worried and distraught about the things that they’re not going to be able to do again. So many people would define themselves, especially when you’re younger by the sport that you do. I’m a skier, I’m a biker. And so with these injuries, people feel like that isn’t going to happen anymore. So when you can find a way to bring a sport back to someone and have them do it at a very high level and independently, it really just helps to finish that rehabilitation process especially if people aren’t going to make any neurological changes than they are- than they really are. They do have some impairments, but they’re really doing the sport at a very high level.
What’s special about the TetraSki because adaptive sports has had skiing for people who are paralyzed or special needs?
ROSENBLUTH: So the TetraSki was created specifically for a group of people who are not able to ski independently. So for 30 years, you’re right, people have been skiing more or less dependently using tethers and other means to get them down the hill and really to go for a ride. So we designed this ski to be able to be skied independently by someone with a very complex disability with very little or no hand function and even in some cases, just breath control.
How long has it been around now?
ROSENBLUTH: The TetraSki has been around for about three or four years now, and it is in Europe, Canada, and all across the United States at some key adaptive sports programs.
Is there anyone who can’t do it? Are there some disabilities that can’t?
ROSENBLUTH: So the ski was designed primarily for someone with a physical disability. So for someone with really significant cognitive disabilities where they maybe can’t follow instructions or coordinate, that might be a little difficult. But even in those cases, the instructor has a remote control. And so as opposed to hanging onto them and moving them, they can be behind a little bit and really help with some of the control. And many times even some of the individuals with cognitive disabilities can do at least some of the lesson independently.
Is there always a second person that’s trained that goes out with the TetraSki?
ROSENBLUTH: So at the TetraSki, there is a significant training process, a certification process for instructors that are already established instructors in experts gears. And they are there for the potential of a catastrophic failure of the system. There’s electronics and there’s motors, and there’s batteries. And so we have someone that’s just there in case.
Can you give me a little bit more about how it works?
ROSENBLUTH: Yeah. So the TetraSki is an alpine adaptive ski that is modified from an existing ski called the test CA snow cart. So what we’ve done is we’ve added electric actuators to the skis. And they can independently operate the skis and then can be operated either with a joystick or with breath control. So you can sip or puff to actually make the actuators work. So the sip or puff or joystick turns those skis and you’re making all of your turns independently with those devices and using turn shape to control your speed.
How have you seen it change patients?
ROSENBLUTH: I’ve been involved with adaptive sports for a long time. And there’s been a lot of complaints about not having pieces of equipment that are independent for a lot of my patients, and so to get them back into something like this usually, the first lesson is really emotional. It’s really special. It’s usually special for the person in the ski, but usually, there’s a friend or family member that didn’t think they’d be able to do it that independently and with that degree of performance. And so it’s always a surprise and is always emotional.
Do you think it has a long-term effect even on their mental health outside of the ski run?
ROSENBLUTH: Yeah, I think what we’re trying to do is not create just a diversionary. Here’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And we want people to be skiers for life or if they were skiers for life before, we want them to continue to be able to do it. So it’s sophisticated enough that there’s a learning curve and people will find themselves getting better and better and are more challenging terrain. And really all the same conditions that existed before their injuries, the win, the gravity, the excitement, it’s just all still there.
Is there a TetraSki for kids?
ROSENBLUTH: So the TetraSki can accommodate a wide range of ages and sizes. So we’ve had anywhere from a child who was age 4.
Can you tell me about the independence that is so important for people?
ROSENBLUTH: I think we forget since we often don’t think about the way we turn on lights and the way we just participate in life in general. So I think once you have a significant disability, we think it’s a great thing to be able to get outside and I think it is but when there’s an option to do any of these sports independently, it’s really a whole another level of interest in participation and excitement, and that’s what we’re really trying to do. We really want to bring the independence piece, but not at the- not to sacrifice performance. So it has to perform at a level that is what people are used to and be as independent as we can make it.
And once you get the independence piece in there too, it doesn’t that just even just benefit the person’s health. I would think not the mind and the body.
ROSENBLUTH: I think so. Every time you can bring a piece of independence back to someone and restore something that was lost it’s a big deal. You’re right, not just for the sport, but for every part of their life.
Are you also looking at trying to bring this into the Paralympics?
ROSENBLUTH: So we just started last year asking ourselves, what’s the next step after just getting somewhere out on the slopes? And inevitably the question of competition came up. So last year, we held the first TetraSki race, just 23 racers from all over the United States. And the racing was incredible. It was competitive. We had times that were within 0.1 seconds of each other and people really, really enjoyed it. So we’re going to race, every year we’re going to start to have regional races, national race, hopefully, international races. And then really try to work with the Paralympic organizations on whether or not we could really become some element, if not a demonstration sport but a sport that’s part of the Paralympics perhaps.
And the ski is just the first thing. Do you have a watercraft?
ROSENBLUTH: So the ski was definitely our first device. We’re here in Salt Lake City, it was really easy to do that and to test it. But we now have a sailboat in Kayak that have had the tetra modifications for both the joystick use and also for the breath control use. We’ve worked on a fishing pole that’s pneumatic, so a puff of air will send the lure out. And then you can reel it back in with a sip-and-puff joystick and working on a power assist cross-country ski, and also an off-road wheelchair as well.
Now, is this for sale to these adaptive sport programs? Is that how it works?
ROSENBLUTH: So the ski equipment, the TetraSki, and the Tetra watercraft are least currently to adapt to ski programs. They’re pretty sophisticated from a technology perspective. So we really want to stay close to the equipment and to our partners that are using them. So we really oversee a large training program and just make sure annually that those skis are in the good condition. And just like some electric cars now like Tesla’s, they require updates, software updates, hardware updates, and we want to be able to do that for folks and keep everyone safe.
END OF INTERVIEW
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