Aina Wifalk (21 March 1928 – 16 June 1983) was a Swedish

social scientist Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

of the modern

walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

Life and work

Wifalk was born in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Sweden on 21 March 1928. In 1949, during her apprenticeship as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, she fell ill with

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. The illness forced the 21-year old Wifalk to end her apprenticeship. From then on she campaigned for people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. In 1952 she founded a club for physically disabled people in her hometown Lund, in 1958 an association for patients with

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

in the Västmanland region and in 1968 the National Association for Accident Victims in

Västerås Västerås () is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 158,653, over 100,000 mo ...

. After her aborted education, she studied social sciences. From 1957 on, she worked as a consultant in the orthopedic clinic in Västerås. At the end of the 1960s, she also advised the city of Västerås on the interests of disabled people. Aina Wifalk died on 16 June 1983 at the age of 55 in Västerås.

Inventions

Wifalk developed two aids for people with physical impairments: the manuped and the walker. She did not patent her inventions because she wanted to make them available to as many disabled people as possible. She received only royalties from the sale of her developments, which she

bequeathed A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

in the name of the Nordic Church Association on the Spanish

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (; literally "Coast of the Sun") is a region in the south of Spain in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of ...

, which she had visited several times in her life.

Manuped

Wifalk presented her first invention to the public in 1965. The "manuped" is a training device for people with physical impairments. With a manuped, affected people can train their arms and legs as well as their coordination with each other. On the basis of the manuped, various training devices for physically disabled people were developed in the following decades, which continue to be used today in health services as well as in special sport schools.

Walker

In the 1970s, Wifalk's ability to walk became progressively more restricted by her poliomyelitis. Since the four-legged walkers available at that time did not meet the requirements for a comfortable walking aid, she began working on an improved design. She made the original frame more stable, added larger wheels and brakes, and a storage or seating surface. She also optimized the device for use both inside and outside of buildings. In 1978, Wifalk presented the first draft of a walking frame. With the help of a state development fund, she found a Swedish company to produce a prototype, and shortly after, mass production of the walking frame began. The walker became established worldwide in the following decades. In Germany alone, by the middle of 2016, it is estimated that as many as three million people use walking frames on a regular basis.

References

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