The 'Walk Safe' solves many problems with traditional walking frames and increases stability
NRS Healthcare has launched an innovative walking frame called the Walk Safe that is able to stay on the ground during activities, whereas traditionally designed frames need lifting.
The Leicestershire-based company is linking up with existing partner Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust to conduct trials among people using the Walk Safe during the autumn.
It says the frame gives older people, people post-surgery and other walking frame users a revolutionary, safer and more stable alternative to front-wheeled walking frames, or traditional Zimmer Frames.
NRS Healthcare conducted a two-year research study with the University of Salford, which received financial backing from Innovate UK. It found that traditional walking frames did not provide users with sufficient stability when turning and crossing thresholds, potentially increasing the risk of falls.
Front wheels that swivel
To improve stability, swivel-front wheels equipped with magnets help to maintain straight-line stability, while allowing wheels to turn when required. As a result, the frame does not need to be picked up during turning. Larger wheels and a rear glide make crossing thresholds much easier, while lower handles allow users to get up easily from a chair.
Susan Bevan, NRS Healthcare’s clinical excellence technical lead, said that Zimmer Frames had been used in the NHS and other settings since the 1950s, with very little change in their design.
‘For many users, typically frail, elderly and those recovering from surgery, these walking frames are a source of anxiety and frustration. We are so pleased that, after rigorous research and clinical testing, we can unveil the Walk Safe – a safer, more stable option for maintaining user independence.’
Tested in a gait laboratory
The Walk Safe was tested in a gait laboratory and in care homes from 2021 to 2022, and the stability of users during high-risk activities, such as turning, was more than double that of a traditional Zimmer frame. The Walk Safe prototypes were reviewed and endorsed by five healthcare professionals, researchers writing in the journal BMC Geriatrics stated.
The article, whose first author was Sibylle Brunhilde Thies from the Centre for Health Sciences Research, School of Health and Society at the University of Salford, offered the following conclusion.
‘The outcomes of the separate studies all support the same conclusion: the prototype is an improvement on the status quo, the typical front-wheeled Zimmer frame for indoor use which has not changed in design for decades.’
Dr Thies and her colleagues added: ‘The significance of this work lies in the success of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership and in biomechanics-informed design leading to improvements, which in future may be applied to other walking aids, to benefit walking aid users by promoting safer, more stable use of their aid.’
More research is underway
An initial clinical trial was completed in partnership with Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in 2023, and the results are scheduled to be published later this year. Funding has been agreed for a second clinical trial to be conducted in users’ homes. Scheduled to start next month, it will be led by researchers from the University of Exeter who will be supported by colleagues from the University of Salford.
NRS Healthcare describes itself as the leading provider of community equipment, technology enabled care, wheelchair services and clinical services in the UK.
Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, is the UK’s innovation agency. It aims to help companies to grow through their development and commercialisation of new products, processes and services. For more information, click
Author: Ian A McMillan
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