Mobility

The Journey

We Understand How You Feel.
That’s Why We Created The RollerFoot.
The RollerFoot Story

The Injury

A few years back, I was playing tennis. We were about 20 minutes into a fast game when suddenly I felt something hit me on the back of my foot from behind. All of us heard a clear popping sound. I thought someone threw a racket at me and it hit me in the foot.

Momentarily I realized what had happened. I couldn’t take a step anymore, and as I examined my left leg around the Achilles, I felt a soft tissue, like nothing was there. Then I knew I ruptured my Achilles tendon!

The pain wasn’t too bad, but the inability to walk normally was terrifying. Here I was: couldn’t walk, and everything must stop: work and all you have to do around the house.

Surgery

After a few days, my Achilles tendon repair surgery was done at one of the best clinics in Wisconsin. I woke up after the anesthesia with a cast on my leg. They rolled me out, handed a pair of crutches, and sent me home to heal.

The prospects were: no weight bearing at all on the injured foot for the next 4 to 6 weeks; after that, gradually increase the load for another 3 to 4 weeks, then rehab for a few months, and possibly full return to activities and sports in about nine months to one year.

That was a big bummer and a huge change of pace in my life.

Recovery

My new life as a handicapped person had begun. I was stumbling around the house, learning the new task of hauling my body on crutches. I quickly realized that it was a very tough kind of sport.

Although physically I was in good shape, it was a losing proposition trying to do things on crutches. My hands quickly became sore; the muscles in my good leg were dead tired. But the bad-ass kicker in the pants was that pendulum-like motion of the injured leg down there, as the blood rushed down to the injury zone, causing additional sharp pain.

Standing on one leg without crutches trying to do something with both hands for more than 1 minute was almost impossible.

You sit at the kitchen table, and you realize that you can’t take this dirty plate to the sink a few feet away on crutches!

That was too much for me. I thought to myself, I wasn’t totally incapacitated – only one foot, but I couldn’t do such a simple task. There must be a better way in the 21st century!

The Birth of the Idea

So I began to look for solutions to free up my hands while remaining non-weight-bearing on one foot. I noticed that the kitchen chair was about the right height so I could place my knee of the injured leg on it and transfer some weight on that knee. That was very helpful! Now I could stand on both legs without putting weight on the injured foot and use both my hands!
The next step was right there – I realized that something like this chair could be tied to my bent knee, and it should roll around like a big skate!

Thus the idea was born! I began to draw sketches; I saw this new thing as having a nice modern shape, pleasant to look at, and, most importantly – very functional for the modern urban environment.

Making a Dream into Reality

My engineering background helped me to develop this idea into drawings and a lot of prototypes. I made many of them, small and large, out of sculpting dough, foam, wood, and other things, even using a hockey shin guard for a leg pad.

It took me many years of trials and failures, with the help and advice from people much smarter than I, before the first working model was launched and patented.

Today, we are making the new generation of RollerFoot out of advanced materials in an industrial setting in large quantities and with total quality control. RollerFoot has since helped to greatly improve the quality of life for hundreds of people, of which I am so proud.
Dmitry O.  – Inventor, Founder

RollerFoot reviews and recommendations by physicians

• Dr. Daniel Kharrazi of Kerlan-Job Ortho Clinic in Orange County, California, recommended RollerFoot to his patients.
• Dr. Steven Waldman and Dr. Michael Nute of Milwaukee Foot Specialists reviewed RollerFoot with positive feedback. They will recommend RollerFoot to appropriate patients.
• Dr. Stephen Arbes, foot and ankle surgeon, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Used RollerFoot knee walker for six weeks in the operating room, performing foot and ankle surgeries. The unique hands-free ability of RollerFoot allowed him to maintain his hands sterile during surgery.
• Dr. Alicia Knee, an Orthopedic surgeon, tried RollerFoot and will definitely mention it to patients. California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California.
• Dr. David Gent, Podiatry surgeon. Kitsap Foot and Ankle Clinic, Bremerton, Washington.
• Dr. Bindu Bamrah, Sports Medicine surgeon, Association of Orthopedic Surgeons. Brookfield, Wisconsin.
• Aurora Medical Center, Oshkosh, WI. Reviewed by sports medicine staff.

• Waukesha Sports Medicine Center. Reviewed by sports medicine staff.
• Medical College of Wisconsin, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Reviewed by staff surgeon.
• West Allis Memorial Hospital, West Allis, Wisconsin. Physical Therapy Department. Reviewed by staff PTs.
• Advanced Health Care Podiatry, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Reviewed by staff DPM.

Patients who rent RollerFoot routinely take it on follow-up appointments with their physicians to demonstrate how they use RollerFoot and to get the Doctor’s opinion. In every case, the doctor’s response is very positive and encouraging to the patients.

RollerFoot Events

On April 2, 2017, RollerFoot was exhibited at the Wellness Fair in Waukesha, Wisconsin. We introduced the RollerFoot to the holistic wellness community in South-East Wisconsin and made quite a few friends along the way.

In July 2016, RollerFoot was featured on the morning TV show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. WTMJ-4 made a great 2-minute piece about the benefits of the RollerFoot for every person, especially women, after foot surgery.

October 2015. RollerFoot exhibits at the MedTrade show for the Home Medical Equipment industry at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, October 27 -29. Along with our great selection of colors, we now offer Comfortable Pads as an accessory for other knee walkers and knee scooters. We also promote Combination Rentals to the Home Medical Equipment stores. See our blog for details.

October 2014. RollerFoot exhibited at the MedTrade – show for the Home Medical Equipment industry at the Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA, October 21 -23. Now offered in 6 different colors and with improved patient comfort, RollerFoot was featured in the New Product Showcase and had great interest from DME stores and distributors around the country and abroad.

October 2013. We have launched a new website. The site has improved functionality and will provide users with a better experience to learn about the benefits of hands-free mobility. We look forward to continued improvements of the site, including more frequent updates to our blog, which is now part of the RollerFoot site.

March 2013. RollerFoot exhibits at the MedTrade show in Las Vegas, attracting the interest of DME stores and pharmacies from the West Coast and beyond. We look forward to establishing several distributors to serve customers in these areas better.

August 2012. We started a blog called Knee Scooting Hands Free to discuss RollerFoot and other knee walkers with the medical community, home care equipment providers, and patients.

May 2012. A new model of RollerFoot is launched: RF-M. It has improved padding for the knee area and a new strapping system allowing quick on-and-off procedures for the patient. The overall design is more robust. The body is made out of durable plastic material, making the unit stronger and lighter. The new model RF-M is now mass-produced in the U.S. utilizing the latest manufacturing technologies.

On June 14, 2011, RollerFoot was awarded a U.S. Patent: US 7,959,545 B2 “The Walking Aid”.

January 2011. RollerFoot made its way to Europe! Rentals are now available from Mobility Options, Ltd., in Dublin, Ireland.

November 16-18, 2010. RollerFoot is presented at the biggest Durable Medical Equipment trade show in America – the MedTrade, at the World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Booth at the HIRA Pavilion. Featured at the New Product Pavilion.

June 10, 2010. The Froedtert Hospital Sports Medicine Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Presentation of RollerFoot for the Sports Medicine Center staff.

May 15, 2009. University of Wisconsin, Madison. 32nd Annual Sports Medicine Symposium. Middleton, WI.

May 2, 2008. Wisconsin Athletic Trainers’ Association Annual Meeting. Stevens Point, WI.

October 27, 2007. Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association. Annual Conference.

October 4, 2007. Wisconsin Physical Therapy Association, Fall Conference.

June 2007. Wisconsin Society of Podiatry Medicine conference.