Ride Custom Back – Important Product Update

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New 3D printed Ride Designs Custom Back

But first, are you familiar with the Ride Custom Back?  It has long been the premier wheelchair seating solution for achieving optimum postural support, balance and control. 

The ultra-breathable mesh liner option allows for a thin profile and helps to keep the sitter dry and comfortable in virtually any climate.

In addition, an AccuSoft® foam liner option provides a softer, more forgiving user interface with the exacting support of the Custom Back shell.

Leading the way in seating technology once again,

we have an important announcement!

Ride Designs has made a quantum leap forward in custom seating manufacturing.  Effective November 1, 2022 we will be utilizing the very latest in 3D printing technology to manufacture the Ride Custom Back.

This first-to-the-industry manufacturing method brings with it some amazing benefits:

  • Unparalleled accuracy and quality assurance.
  • Simplification (as follows):

Here’s the VERY IMPORTANT fine print:

  • As of November 1, 2022 you will see new part numbers on the Ride Custom Back order forms, and on quotes.
    • What was originally part number “RCB100” will now be part number “RCB200”.
    • Options that used to begin with “RCB” will now begin with “RCB2”.
  • HCPCS coding, pricing and product name stay the same.
    • Rest assured, we won’t disrupt your funding for current orders by changing part numbers mid-stream.
    • All open quotes and orders for RCB100s will remain unchanged, and those backs will be built in the original method.

As always, we’re here to help you in any way we can.

Call us at 866.788.1633 or email customerservice@ridedesigns.com.

Thank you, and Ride On!

Taking Scanning and Custom Seating to the Next Level!

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LiDAR scanning on iPad Pro with Scaniverse.

Ride Designs is excited to announce effective May 1, 2022 we are no longer providing scanners with our shape capture tool kits.

Since the inception of the RideWorks app in 2017, our Ride Certified Practitioners have utilized the Structure Sensor 3D scanner attached to an iPad to create a 3D scan of captured shapes – shapes which are then submitted via RideWorks for the making of Ride custom seating systems.   All tool kits supplied to Ride Certified Practitioners between March of 2017 and May 1, 2022 utilize this method.

We are pleased to introduce a new scanning method, utilizing LiDAR technology via an app called ‘Scaniverse’ installed on an iPad equipped with a LiDAR scanner (iPad Pro 2020 or later*).  This method does not require the attachment of a separate scanning device to the iPad. 

If you order Ride shape capture tools after May 1, 2022 you will not receive a scanner and scanner bracket.  You will receive an iPad Pro with no scanner.  You are seriously going to love this new method!  It’s simpler, requires no extra attachments or chargers, and it’s even more accurate.

Each tool kit containing an iPad Pro will also include these instructions for using the Scaniverse app to scan your captured shape and submit it to Ride.

If you have a Structure Sensor scanner from us, but also have an iPad Pro that was made in 2020 or later, you are welcome to install the Scaniverse app and use it instead of the Structure Sensor scanner. We are happy to accept either method of scanning. 

Onward and upward!

Easily Modify the Ride Custom 2 Cushion in the field!

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One of the many outstanding features of the Ride Custom 2 Cushion is that it can be easily modified in the field without compromising the moisture-resistance or integrity of the foam.   When the need for modifications is identified at a final fitting, they can be completed on-site preventing delays in delivery.  In this series of short videos, Ryan Crosby, Ride’s Senior Education and Technology Specialist, demonstrates the correct methods to use when modifications to the Ride Custom 2 Cushion are necessary.

Learn more about the Custom 2 Cushion:

Recent Complex Rehab Technology Advocacy efforts

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Traditionally, each fall Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) advocates fly in to Washington, D.C., to educate congressional lawmakers on CRT-related issues. This year, delegations from each state met with healthcare liaisons in a virtual format to discuss their biggest concerns. Each delegation is composed of CRT suppliers, manufacturers and end users.

The Colorado delegation outside Senator Michael Bennet’s office in 2019 (those were the days!)… due to Covid precautions, the 2021 event was held online.

Adequate access to CRT products and supporting services is critical to minimizing health care costs from medical complications and interventions. It is also needed to allow people with disabilities to maximize their independence.

The advocacy program is a collaborative effort between industry stakeholders associated with NCART (National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology) and NRRTS (National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers), plus end users affiliated with the #UNITE4CRT project. A consortium of disability organizations also banded together and was represented in the delegations.

This year’s topics included:

• Urging state representatives to sign onto bills ensuring continued funding for CRT and highlighting the importance of funding for new technologies (standing systems, etc.).

• Encouraging the extension of funding for telehealth provided by physical and occupational therapists, which originally came about as a result of the Covid-19 public health emergency, and continues to work well — particularly in rural areas.

• Highlighting the need for federal financial assistance for CRT providers who are constrained by pre‐determined pricing structures that fail to factor in the new operating and cost realities of providing CRT and supplies (provision of Personal Protective Equipment for employees and customers, supply chain challenges, higher product costs, increased freight charges, etc.). Unfortunately, CRT providers do not have the ability to raise prices to cover the increased costs as they are subject to Medicare, Medicaid, and other third‐party payer fee schedules which are typically derived from Medicare rates.

By all accounts, the advocates’ messages were well-received but this is an on-going effort that could benefit from your awareness and input. Check out the resources below for more information.

Recent update (October 2021) from NCART

UNITE4CRT monthly conversation schedule

Educational webinars from CRT Awareness Day events

Game on!

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Matt Scott came to Ride Designs recently, looking for a more optimal connection with his basketball wheelchair, as he prepared for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

An elite competitor, Matt has played wheelchair basketball on nearly every stage, from pick up ball with friends, to junior league, collegiate, US National team, then professionally abroad in a number of countries, plus at the Paralympic level. A chair that is not working at 100% efficiency means Matt isn’t able to achieve what he knows he can on the court. 

Matt’s old seating set up was big and bulky with lots of straps. He felt limited. The straps meant that he couldn’t carry the basketball in his lap and push with both hands. There was also extra give and flex in the bucket seating on his basketball chair — it no longer felt like an extension of himself on the court and didn’t respond to his movements the way he wanted.

Ride Designs listened to the challenges Matt was having with his chair and worked with him to figure out the best way to remedy each limitation. New, smaller straps were added that tightened the bucket closer to his body so that he could carry the ball more easily and keep it protected. The tighter-fitting solution also kept the bucket from flexing into the wheels on extreme turns, making the chair much more responsive. Seeking a second gold medal at your fifth Paralympic games, means that both the equipment and the athlete must be functioning at the highest level. 

Matt is currently using a Ride Custom 2 Cushion for his daily seating and is feeling more protected and comfortable than ever. The choice to switch his seating to Ride Designs was a reaction to a serious health scare. Matt hopes to encourage others to be more proactive about their seating and skin health so that they never have an experience similar to his.

Learn more about Matt…

Join us in cheering on Matt and Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Paralympic Games!

Stay tuned to the Games:

  • Official Paralympic Games website, constantly being updated.
  • A detailed schedule of which event is happening when, here.
  • How/where to watch, even if you don’t have cable, here.
  • NBC’s Paralympic coverage schedule.

Follow Matt on instagram: @mattscott_fly

“The United States may be the birthplace of basketball, but to make a career out of playing wheelchair hoops, athletes have had to move overseas.” — Gwen Knapp, New York Times, writes about professional wheelchair basketball teams abroad here.