Good kit is as essential to sporting success as physical and mental training – and probably doubly so in parasports, where the equipment may be directly connected to the body or act as a support or the like (a wheelchair in rugby, for example, or a leg prosthetic for the 100m sprint).
The technologies that are used here are similarly worth their weight in gold for non-athletes in everyday life, and also help to maintain people’s stake in society.
Ottobock is an acknowledged world leader in the field of prosthetics, and the medical technology firm also manufactures orthotics, wheelchairs and exo-skeletons. It has always been their mission to develop innovative products that enhance people’s mobility, and a major portion of the research and development essential for this is carried out in Vienna, Austria, where the company works in cooperation with research institutes and universities.
The company has supported the Paralympic Games for more than 30 years, providing a technical support team both before and during the event at no charge, and in Paris, this will be made up of no less than 164 people from 41 countries; these will be helping athletes of all nations with maintenance and repairs, whatever the brand of their prosthetics, orthotics or wheelchairs, allowing them to concentrate on competing without worrying about the technical side of things.
Saphenus Medical Technology’s technology helps para-athletes improve their performance and achieve their goals. The Austrian company has developed a system that registers a prosthetic foot’s pronation and contact with the ground; this information is fed back to the body by means of vibration patterns, allowing walking on different surfaces to be perceived with the senses. This improves gait stability and safety when walking, and also reduces phantom pain. The best thing about it is that the system can be fitted to any prosthesis.
The company’s commitment to social issues is evidenced by its championing of numerous United Nations sustainable development goals and its many years of collaboration with the Papillon International organisation, which works to provide people with affordable prosthetics.
Various iterations of Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH’s ropeways are in use all round the world, from passenger cable cars in the mountains to freight conveyances for mining, Cable Liner shuttles at airports and gondola lifts for tourist attractions.
The company also goes back a long way with the Paralympics, building any number of cable cars for previous Olympic and Paralympic Games and getting countless athletes where they need to be safely and reliably.
Moving so many passengers has taught Doppelmayr the importance of providing simple and level access for people with varying needs, and this is especially true for mobility solutions in towns and cities. The company is currently involved in constructing Câble C1, the first urban cable car to be built in the suburbs of Paris; the line will be 4.5 km long and will connect the 20,000 inhabitants of four towns in 18 minutes or less, with good links to the existing public transport network. Its five stations will have no steps and will thus provide level access.
