Can a current non-player in the power-wheelchair market set the pace for the future of the industry?

With its announcement in July of a wheelchair that can climb stairs, maneuver through sand and raise its user to eye level position, Johnson & Johnson may have set a new standard for full-featured power wheelchairs. "I think the chair exposes people to where the bar could be," says Invacare's Hymie Pogir. But he and other manufacturers question who would pay the steep price for this do-almost-everything chair in today's tight reimbursement climate.

Seasoned power wheelchair manufacturers are also taking a wait-and-see stance. "It's a number of years off and anything can happen," says Mark Greig of Sunrise Medical.

Currently, the chair is undergoing final clinical trials and must be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration before it hits the market-perhaps in two years. When it does come up for sale, it will probably have a price tag of between $20,000 and $25,000, say officials with the New Brunswick, N.J.-based company. Whether it will be covered by Medicare is still unknown.

Manufacturers are impressed by the high-powered chair but are quick to note that its technology is not entirely new. There have been chairs that navigated through sand and chairs that climbed stairs. "It's the packaging and interaction of these things, though, that's totally fascinating," Pogir says. "It's never been seen like that."

Jimmie Hall of Chauffeur Mobility agrees. "It's wonderful technology. I hope it gets through FDA. But it's a high-end product, so it's not for everyone."

Still, Winmed Products' president, Bruce Russell, believes the chair could be a template for the future because it answers the need of users to be independent. Power wheelchairs are going to have to be more flexible, he says. "I think the J&J chair is a good example. You can go up stairs, down stairs, in sand-wherever you want to go." -S.H. HC