"IT MADE ME FEEL MORE NORMAL"

REVOLUTIONARY NEW INVENTION
RESTORES FREEDOM AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY
FOR PATIENTS WITH LOWER-LEG INJURIES

CANADALEG INC. introduces i WALKFree…The World’s first Hands-Free Crutch

TORONTO – June 5, 2000 – A unique new Canadian invention is poised to revolutionize the way lower-leg trauma is treated by providing an alternative to the standard axillary crutch. iWALKFree…The Hands-Free Crutch will now enable people who must be non weight-bearing due to pathology of the lower leg to maintain their mobility and self-sufficiency by freeing up their arms and hands. Additional benefits include increased independence, improved gait during recovery, and reduced atrophy from muscle disuse.

The brainchild of Ontario inventor and organic farmer Lance Matthews, iWALKFree…The Hands-Free Crutch was created after a bad fall left him with a seriously fractured leg. After only a few days on traditional crutches, Matthews, an accomplished carpenter, decided there had to be a better way. He created a device that allowed him to bear his weight through the flexed knee, resulting in no weight being borne by ankle, tibia or foot. His orthopaedic technologists and doctors at the Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre (SWCHSC) were so impressed that they initiated a preliminary clinical trial on the device, with ground-breaking results. The data from the clinical trial was presented at the Canadian Orthopaedic Association's AGM in Edmonton (June 3-6).

"iWALKFree…The Hands-Free Crutch is an incredible idea for improving patients’ lifestyle," says Al Dalton, Orthopaedic Technologist with the SWCHSC, Executive Officer of the Canadian Society of Orthopaedic Technologists, and one of the authors of the preliminary trial. "Everyone can benefit from this device. It will revolutionize fracture care mobility."

"It made me feel more normal," said a participant in the SWCHSC pilot study. "I could participate in more things."

"iWALKFree…The Hands-Free Crutch is a versatile device that will greatly facilitate ambulation for individuals with non-weight-bearing, below-knee injuries," expands colleague Dion Maxwell, R.T. (Orthopaed), also of the SWCHSC.

Dr. Hans Kreder MD, MPH, FRSC (C), Trauma and Joint Replacement Surgeon & Scientist at SWCHSC, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Orthopaedic Surgery, Health Administration & Public Health Sciences Adjunct Scientist, ICES, co-authored the preliminary study with Dalton and Maxwell. He states, "iWALKFree has enormous potential in the management and rehabilitation of traumatic lower extremity injuries."