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Pedal Wheelchair Offers Hope for Paralytics

  • The newest Cogy, released in the summer of 2024, is available in blue as well as the original yellow and red. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    The newest Cogy, released in the summer of 2024, is available in blue as well as the original yellow and red. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • The Cogy is extremely simple to operate. A small amount of pressure on the pedals is enough to propel the chair forward. A handle wired to the back wheels is used for turning and braking. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    The Cogy is extremely simple to operate. A small amount of pressure on the pedals is enough to propel the chair forward. A handle wired to the back wheels is used for turning and braking. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • The Cogy is powered by the primitive “stepping reflex” seen in infants. When the sole of one foot touches the floor, the other leg involuntarily moves. This reflex recedes as the brain develops. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    The Cogy is powered by the primitive “stepping reflex” seen in infants. When the sole of one foot touches the floor, the other leg involuntarily moves. This reflex recedes as the brain develops. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Uebayashi, who can “barely take one step,” successfully pedals a bright red Cogy at a test-driving event. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Uebayashi, who can “barely take one step,” successfully pedals a bright red Cogy at a test-driving event. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • “Wow, this is a breeze!” exclaims test-driver Yokotani, who suffers paralysis on his right side as a result of a stroke about six months earlier. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    “Wow, this is a breeze!” exclaims test-driver Yokotani, who suffers paralysis on his right side as a result of a stroke about six months earlier. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Tess Co. President Suzuki Kenji travels all over Japan attending test-driving events, where he can often be seen squatting beside a wheelchair with his toolbox open. He says that ideas for improvements often come from tinkering with the mechanism. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Tess Co. President Suzuki Kenji travels all over Japan attending test-driving events, where he can often be seen squatting beside a wheelchair with his toolbox open. He says that ideas for improvements often come from tinkering with the mechanism. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Suzuki and Tomono (right) entertain event participants with a friendly Cogy race. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Suzuki and Tomono (right) entertain event participants with a friendly Cogy race. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Daycare Hikari’s colorful RV promises fun and good health. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Daycare Hikari’s colorful RV promises fun and good health. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Two friends from Daycare Hikari 2, aged 94 and 83, take the air around Lake Kinsha in their Cogy wheelchairs, which they have been using for about six years. “I used to have to go to the doctor twice a week to get shots for knee pain,” says one. “Now I don’t go at all. The Cogy has made me so much better.” (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Two friends from Daycare Hikari 2, aged 94 and 83, take the air around Lake Kinsha in their Cogy wheelchairs, which they have been using for about six years. “I used to have to go to the doctor twice a week to get shots for knee pain,” says one. “Now I don’t go at all. The Cogy has made me so much better.” (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Patients take part in physical therapy on the facility’s spacious roof. “I come here because pedaling is fun,” says one. A cooling mist keeps the roof comfortable on hot days. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Patients take part in physical therapy on the facility’s spacious roof. “I come here because pedaling is fun,” says one. A cooling mist keeps the roof comfortable on hot days. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • On Sports Day, patients compete in a Pedaling Olympics held on the grounds of the rehab center. Those pedal-powered chairs can really move! (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    On Sports Day, patients compete in a Pedaling Olympics held on the grounds of the rehab center. Those pedal-powered chairs can really move! (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Dr. Kuri knows and understands his elderly patients on a personal level. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Dr. Kuri knows and understands his elderly patients on a personal level. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • Proven effective in enhancing lower limb motor function, the Cogy is used as a physical therapy device in a growing number of settings. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    Proven effective in enhancing lower limb motor function, the Cogy is used as a physical therapy device in a growing number of settings. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • As explained by Murakami, the pink charts on the monitor display the results of electromyography measuring electrical activity in the muscles of a patient’s paralyzed left leg. The light shades of pink on the left side indicate the low level of activity generated by simple flexion and extension of the knee, without the Cogy, while the dark shades on the right show the much stronger electrical activity that accompanies Cogy pedaling. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    As explained by Murakami, the pink charts on the monitor display the results of electromyography measuring electrical activity in the muscles of a patient’s paralyzed left leg. The light shades of pink on the left side indicate the low level of activity generated by simple flexion and extension of the knee, without the Cogy, while the dark shades on the right show the much stronger electrical activity that accompanies Cogy pedaling. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • The rehab facility’s Cogy dance team rehearses for the fall recital, dancing to the original song “Yuke yuke Cogy” (Go, Go, Cogy). (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    The rehab facility’s Cogy dance team rehearses for the fall recital, dancing to the original song “Yuke yuke Cogy” (Go, Go, Cogy). (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • From left, Yufuki Rei, Aya, and Baku of Daycare Hikari’s Cogy Dancers. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    From left, Yufuki Rei, Aya, and Baku of Daycare Hikari’s Cogy Dancers. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

  • A Cogy user cruises around town in his cheerful yellow wheelchair. The Cogy’s backers hope such sights will become commonplace. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

    A Cogy user cruises around town in his cheerful yellow wheelchair. The Cogy’s backers hope such sights will become commonplace. (© Ōnishi Naruaki)

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