About the Wijit

What is the Wijit?

The Wijit DBS is the fast, fun, easy-to-use lever-powered Driving and Braking System that replaces the regular wheels of your manual wheelchair; they let you stop safer, turn sharper, negotiate inclines, and go further than a standard push-rim wheelchair – all without sore shoulders, torn gloves or dirty hands.

The Wijit can be installed on most manual wheelchairs. Once installed, a quick release button makes it easy to both remove and re-attach the wheels – making transporting your wheelchair quick and easy.

Moving With Power And Speed

The lever is used to propel the wheelchair instead of the push-rim. A 1:2 gear ratio transmission with forward and reverse gears is inside the hub. The combination of the Lever Drive and the gearing reduces the force required to move your wheelchair – adding more than a 50% increase of torque to the wheels. This combination also reduces the number of times you have to push the wheels each day, by a factor of 2 to 3.

Drive Shifters

To shift between forward, neutral and reverse; the user rotates a shifter above the Handle Grips at the top of the lever. The Paddle Shifter was specifically designed for ease of use by those with impaired hand function. While both drives are in neutral, the wheelchair can be pushed, or the push-rims used. With both levers shifted into reverse, user's can back into tight places or onto ramps with power and control.

Braking And Steering Control

By simply pulling inwards on the levers, the Wijit's built-in braking system allows its users to easily stop and steer their wheelchair, all while their hands remain safely on the lever's handle grips – making friction burns a thing of the past.

Putting it all together with the lever and gearing for pushing power, the brakes for steering and stopping control; and the shifter for forward, neutral, and reverse control; the Wijit lets you drive, steer and brake without ever touching the wheels!

Injury Prevention And Health Benefits

The Wijit's award-winning design has been the subject of numerous studies, each substantially confirming that the Wijit protects its users from repetitive stress injuries – along with other standard manual wheelchair push-rim propulsion traumas. Its ease of use, and the increased mobility provided, has shown that it leads to more exercise, resulting in improved overall health.

Wheelchair Compatibility and Purchasing

The Wijit DBS is compatible with many of the manual wheelchairs on the market today. To check for compatibility, please visit our Wheelchair Compatibility section. The Wijit DBS is currently available in two models; the Wijit Tetra and the Wijit Voyager. The Tetra uses a 24-inch wheel, designed to work for most adult-sized users; the Voyager uses a 20-inch wheel, ideal for children and smaller adults. Please see our Purchasing section for more information.

Who Can Use It?

Patients with a very broad range of diagnosis can benefit from the Wijit including:

Many patients who are unable to self-propel a manual wheelchair – and would otherwise require a power wheelchair – are able to successfully meet all of their mobility needs, while using a manual wheelchair with the Wijit.

Inventor Brian Watwood

Brian M. Watwood, a world-class athlete and professional skier, was struck head-on in an automotive accident while riding his bicycle home from an outing. Brian was diagnosed as a C5-C6 incomplete quadriplegic as the result of the accident and was confined to a manual wheelchair that he could not operate.

One day, during his rehabilitation, Brian sat staring at a water fountain, unable to propel his chair forward to get a drink. Totally frustrated, he closed his eyes, clenched his teeth and fought the rage within. Brian refers to what happened next as his WIJIT epiphany. His “mind’s eye” went blank, devoid of all conscious thought and stark white; almost simultaneously a vision of two levers appeared in the center of the whiteness.

Because Brian persevered with his vision, and went on to develop his technologies, he was eventually successful in moving his wheelchair. His story is unique in the sense that his remarkable recovery resulted in his limited ability to walk, earning him the nickname “SuperQuad” (the Superman of Quadriplegics). His inspiration to help others in the disabled community began when immobility drove him to act.

Brian recognized the disparities between user needs and available products. At that time the global wheelchair industry was dominated by cumbersome and heavy steel frames; but in the late 1990’s manufacturers began to innovate, flooding the market with lightweight and ultralight wheelchairs. The Wijit DBS met this trend towards ergonomic design and lightweight materials and has been in use globally since 2007. The Wijit’s award-winning design has been praised by consumers, scientists and trade journals, for providing the next revolution in wheelchair technology.

A full, detailed story about Brian and the Wijit has been taken from the excellent article, “The Super Quad”, by Clive Soden (originally featured in the Access Travel Center website). The following is the opening paragraph from that article:

When Brian Watwood woke up in the hospital, doctors told him he was a quadriplegic. Three days earlier a car had slammed head-on into Brian as he was riding his bicycle home from a horse show 25 miles away. Brian's face was mangled, his neck severely injured, and he was paralyzed from the chin down. Read Article

Award Winners: Brian Watwood and the Wijit

Brian Watwood is the founder and CEO/CTO of “The Wijit Company, LLC”. Given his work with the Wijit DBS, and his associated activities in the community, both he and the Wijit have been the focus of several television and print media appearances. This recognition for Brian and the Wijit has also come in the form of receiving several awards.

As it is with the saying: “It is difficult to separate the man from the machine”, such is the case with Brian and his Wijit. The many television and print media appearances, and awards given, are a combination of successes attributed to both Brian and the Wijit. The following is a list of some of their achievements:

The Wijit Company

Our Mission

To increase the mobility and independence of wheelchair-dependent people, prevent injury and provide a healthy means to physical activity, thereby improving the quality of their lives and the lives of all those with whom they interact.

Historical Background

The inventor of the Wijit®, Brian M. Watwood, sustained a spinal cord injury in 1987 rendering him a quadriplegic. Mr. Watwood’s injuries made it impossible for him to motivate the manual wheelchairs he was confined to. During his convalescence at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Brian began conceptualizing a lever actuated driving and braking system for manual wheelchairs. Brian’s original concept in October 1987 has evolved into today’s Wijit.

Current and Projected Products

The current Wijit® product line is composed of the Tetra® and Voyager® models. The Tetra addresses the adult wheelchair market while the Voyager focuses on smaller and pediatric wheelchair users.

Current research and development is focused on addressing the Hemiplegic market, an underserved segment of the disabled community. Annually approximately 1M persons in the U.S. suffer CVA’s (strokes). Over 80% of these patients are left with some degree of Hemiplegia. Most hemiplegic patients cannot neurologically function well enough to safely and effectively operate a SMW.

Working in collaboration with University of California, Davis (UCD) and California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) engineering departments, we have developed working prototypes of the all new HemiDrive which allows the operator of the SMW to safely and effectively control their wheelchairs with only one arm. The HemiDrive will be available in both mechanically and electronically controlled models.

As early as the summer of 2020, HemiDrive models are slated to undergo clinical evaluations at Los Amigos Rehabilitation and Educational Institute (LAREI) in Downey, CA.

In August 2017, the USPTO issued U.S. Patent No. 9724253 for the HemiDrive-M. A patent for the HemiDrive-E is pending.

Management Team

Brian M. Watwood – Founder/Managing Member

Mr. Watwood is the founder with the vision to conceptualize the technology. Mr. Watwood was disabled in 1987. Initially paralyzed from the neck down, Brian was confined to and dependent upon wheelchairs. This experience provided him unique perspectives into the many problems inherent to users of wheelchairs. His patented concepts for driving, steering and braking manual wheelchairs led him to develop today’s phenomenal Wheel-Based Wijit. His desire to make this technology available to wheelchair users worldwide has become the driving force ofWatwood, Inc.

As Founder and Managing Partner of The Wijit Company, Mr. Watwood’s responsibilities include representing the company and presenting Wijit technology to the professional community while overseeing the manufacturing and further development of Wijit technology.

National media attention to Mr. Watwood’s story has portrayed him as a living symbol of perseverance and recovery. His dedication to making his Wijit technology available for the wheelchair dependent has directly and indirectly impacted the lives of many disabled persons and those they come in contact with. Consequently, he was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for Persons with Disabilities. His inclusion in this select and honored group joins Mr. Watwood with such notables as Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

John Rhea – Wijit Operations Supervisor

Mr. Rhea provides the Company over twenty years of Quality Assurance experience in a high-speed production environment. Mr. Rhea has a diploma in Micro Computer Operations and Maintenance from MTI College, with a CompTIA A+ Certification in computer repair and maintenance. Mr. Rhea also provides experience in small office managerial skills, and since joining The Company his computer and office skills have proven invaluable in keeping the company operating efficiently. With over a decade of “Wijit” experience he currently handles most of the company’s Wijit operations including Wijit Assembly and Maintenance, Shipping/Receiving, Inventory & Production Control.

Mr. Rhea brings a well rounded personal and professional set of job skills to The Company with a dedication and belief in the Wijits ability to change manual wheelchair users’ lives in a functional and positive manner.

Ian Strimaitis – Consulting Engineer

Mr. Strimaitis’ expertise and experience is with product development. He has designed robotic equipment to deploy overhead automobile sensing devices and sub-sea equipment on underwater vehicles for Schilling Robotics.

Mr. Strimaitis has experience designing bicycle-related products for Bell Sports, Giro Sport Design and Santa Cruz Bicycles, a background well suited for the wheelchair industry and the mechanics of the Wijit. He has been involved with transforming the prototype Wijit mechanics to an economically mass-producible and reliable design. His engineering design experience and dedication will be instrumental in supporting future product development with The Company. Mr. Strimaitis earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, and his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.

Michael Faggard – Internet Services Manager

Mr. Faggard has a B.S. in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento. As an independent contractor specializing in web design and web programming, Mr. Faggard has designed, built and maintained several web sites for clients, notably Voterdigest.com. Thanks in part to the influence of his work on Voterdigest.com, his client (John F. Gillis) was nominated and became President Bush's National Director for Crime Victims.

Since his work with Voterdigst.com, Mr. Faggard went on to design and build the original Wijit web site and manages The Company's Internet requirements. As a disabled person, with intimate knowledge of the Wijit, he is uniquely qualified, in a professional and insightful way, to present the Wijit and The Company to the Internet-ready world.