Sarah Doherty and Kerith Perreur-Lloyd have just won the 2011 da Vinci Awards and the people's choice award for their high performance forearm crutches called SideStix.
"It just is one more validation of SideStix as really an innovative product for people who need sticks to ambulate with for mobility," Doherty said.
SideStix won in the transportation and mobility category of the da Vinci Awards that are meant to recognize the most innovative developments in the field of assistive and adaptive technologies -helping people overcome physical limitations.
Doherty is no stranger to physical challenges, having lost her right leg as a young teenager when a drunk driver hit her. She didn't let the physical limitation stop her from being active in a number of sports. She was the first amputee without an artificial limb to climb Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in North America.
She heard about the U.S. based awards when she attended the No Barriers Summit in Colorado in July.
"It's a summit on accessibility for the disabled and it showcases products or accessible environments, tourism, that kind of thing to people," Doherty said.
A representative from the Michigan chapter of the National MS Society met Doherty at that event, was wowed by her product, and nominated her for the award.
The awards were created by the National MS Society as a way to foster innovation in the field of adaptive and assistive technologies.
Doherty said it was the first time judges had seen crutches in the transportation and mobility category.
"They have seen lots of wheelchair nominations. In fact, we were up against someone who had a very innovative wheelchair design, but we're really one of the first companies to look at true innovation for walking aids that are like crutches and more fully weight-bearing walking aids," Doherty said.
The innovation was recognized with an award on Sept. 22, but Doherty was unable to attend the ceremony because of travel costs.
When organizers of the awards called to tell her of the win, she was also surprised to find out she won the people's choice award for her video explaining SideStix on YouTube.
Registered users of YouTube were able to vote online for their favourite video and Doherty's garnered the most votes.
To find out more about SideStix, see www.sidestix.com or call 604-989-6800.
