January 2008 Blog Posts (4)

Lead User Innovators and Democratizing Innovation

"Lead users," are consumers (individuals or companies) who spur innovation in an industry by contributing innovations often of a greater value and at a faster pace than the companies that produce the products they use. Their innovations are often freely shared and eventually incorporated into products. Far from being an idealist fantasy, lead user innovations can be incorporated into the R&D strategy of a nimble company, enabling quick identification and anticipation of consumer needs. What… Continue

Added by Jon Kuniholm on January 10, 2008 at 6:04pm — No Comments

Opening the Network; Privacy Issues

Some of you may have seen the message that I sent to everyone on the network requesting feedback on opening the network to Google searches and RSS feeds, and to casual, unsubscribed viewers. I have received some feedback, all positive, and I intend to make the change, barring strenuous objections from anyone within the next week.

As I mentioned, I had originally made the network open to anyone to join, but closed to non-members in order to encourage people to share personal medical… Continue

Added by Jon Kuniholm on January 10, 2008 at 1:29pm — No Comments

Terminal devices

Well, well, where do I start?

I have been a left arm below elbow amputee for over 17 years and am using a voluntary closing APRL hook developed by th US army after World War 2. It is currently manufactured by Hosmer and has not had any changes made since its inception over 55 years ago. I am seeking design and manufacture help to increase this hook's quality an longevity.

A bit of my history with the APRL:

After I had my accident which caused the need for…

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Added by Darryl on January 5, 2008 at 7:29pm — 7 Comments

Suspension Sleeve

I just got a new suspension sleeve for my gym socket. I ordered a kids' large size below knee neoprene liner from Flexikids instead of the arm suspension liner from Siliopos. IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!

I ordered it online from http://www.amputeesupply.com

It is heavier duty and the knee angle that is built into it fits nicely over my elbow. The Silipos liners blew out quickly. I'll let you know how this one holds up.

Added by Sean McHugh on January 4, 2008 at 3:43pm — No Comments