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CNN Live At Daybreak

Crutches with Wheels?

Aired February 06, 2003 - 05:51   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Crutches with wheels? It sounds like a practical joke. But for certain types of leg and foot injuries, it could be just what the doctor ordered.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with an unorthodox medical device that can give you a leg up while you heal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crutches may be good enough for a president and a few folks, George Clooney comes to mind. He even looked good in them. But in general, crutches are a pain in the armpit. Enter the Roll-A-Bout.

(on camera): It's kind of cool, isn't it?

ROD ACCETTA, CREATOR, ROLL-A-BOUT: What you do is you put your knee on the kneepad and your ankle on the ankle pad.

MOOS (voice-over): And then you just roll about. It's equipped with a hand brake. You steer by gently lifting and pointing in the direction you want to go. Imagine zipping around shopping. This woman says that when her doctor recommended the Roll-A-Bout...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I laughed at him. And then about a week later I said oh, these crutches have got to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing how many patients like it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's easy. You get right on it and you just go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's cool. It's like a scooter.

MOOS: Actually, the scooter inspired the Roll-A-Bout's creator, Rod Accetta had no experience making medical devices when a doctor friend who had ruptured his Achille's tendon asked Rod to design something for him.

ACCETTA: He had an office chair with wheels on it and he'd put his knee on the chair and scoot around the office.

MOOS: From that concept evolved the Roll-A-Bout. Ten years later, Rod attends podiatrist conventions selling his device.

(on camera): Run for your life. (voice-over): The Roll-A-Bout is good only for injuries below the knee. So, sorry, Paula, because you injured your knee skiing, the Roll-A-Bout can't roll you about. And you can't use it on stairs. But someone like Mitchell Bennis (ph), who's had foot surgery, can use his hands to unload the dishwasher. He says folks rarely stare.

MITCHELL BENNIS: It's just another New Yorker with a crazy device.

MOOS: The standard Roll-A-Bout costs about 450 bucks, or you can rent it. A high school senior graduated in one. And a mother of the bride...

ACCETTA: And decorated it up for the wedding. And she went down the aisle with her daughter.

MOOS: Rod's even designing an all terrain Roll-A-Bout.

ACCETTA: An off the road model. We've had a lot of requests from patients who want to go in the dirt, go in the sand.

MOOS: We decided to go shopping with Mitchell. But when we came home, there were fire trucks at his house. BENNIS: I have CNN here and the house is on fire.

MOOS: It turned out he'd left the oven on self-clean and it caught fire. BENNIS: Everything OK?

MOOS: Using his Roll-A-Bout, Mitchell shoved the oven about. It makes crutches seem lame.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired February 6, 2003 - 05:51   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Crutches with wheels? It sounds like a practical joke. But for certain types of leg and foot injuries, it could be just what the doctor ordered.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with an unorthodox medical device that can give you a leg up while you heal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crutches may be good enough for a president and a few folks, George Clooney comes to mind. He even looked good in them. But in general, crutches are a pain in the armpit. Enter the Roll-A-Bout.

(on camera): It's kind of cool, isn't it?

ROD ACCETTA, CREATOR, ROLL-A-BOUT: What you do is you put your knee on the kneepad and your ankle on the ankle pad.

MOOS (voice-over): And then you just roll about. It's equipped with a hand brake. You steer by gently lifting and pointing in the direction you want to go. Imagine zipping around shopping. This woman says that when her doctor recommended the Roll-A-Bout...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I laughed at him. And then about a week later I said oh, these crutches have got to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's amazing how many patients like it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's easy. You get right on it and you just go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's cool. It's like a scooter.

MOOS: Actually, the scooter inspired the Roll-A-Bout's creator, Rod Accetta had no experience making medical devices when a doctor friend who had ruptured his Achille's tendon asked Rod to design something for him.

ACCETTA: He had an office chair with wheels on it and he'd put his knee on the chair and scoot around the office.

MOOS: From that concept evolved the Roll-A-Bout. Ten years later, Rod attends podiatrist conventions selling his device.

(on camera): Run for your life. (voice-over): The Roll-A-Bout is good only for injuries below the knee. So, sorry, Paula, because you injured your knee skiing, the Roll-A-Bout can't roll you about. And you can't use it on stairs. But someone like Mitchell Bennis (ph), who's had foot surgery, can use his hands to unload the dishwasher. He says folks rarely stare.

MITCHELL BENNIS: It's just another New Yorker with a crazy device.

MOOS: The standard Roll-A-Bout costs about 450 bucks, or you can rent it. A high school senior graduated in one. And a mother of the bride...

ACCETTA: And decorated it up for the wedding. And she went down the aisle with her daughter.

MOOS: Rod's even designing an all terrain Roll-A-Bout.

ACCETTA: An off the road model. We've had a lot of requests from patients who want to go in the dirt, go in the sand.

MOOS: We decided to go shopping with Mitchell. But when we came home, there were fire trucks at his house. BENNIS: I have CNN here and the house is on fire.

MOOS: It turned out he'd left the oven on self-clean and it caught fire. BENNIS: Everything OK?

MOOS: Using his Roll-A-Bout, Mitchell shoved the oven about. It makes crutches seem lame.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com