Visual Impairment, White Cane and Wheeleo®

This video highlights the coordination difficulties encountered when a visually impaired person attempts to simultaneously use a white cane and a classic walking cane. A situation that is frequent yet poorly adapted in reality.

A Coordination Challenge Rarely Taken into Account

Handling a white cane requires continuous attention to scan the environment and detect obstacles. Combining it with a traditional walking cane greatly complicates the task. Indeed, one must:

• Lift and correctly place the walking cane with each step,
• Maintain balance,
• And continue to effectively use the white cane.

This dual use requires complex motor coordination that exceeds the capabilities of many people, even after training. The result: disorganized walking, loss of fluidity, and even an increased risk of falling.

The Wheeleo®: an Adapted Response to this Specific Need

The Wheeleo®, a one-handed walker, offers an effective solution to this problem:

• It provides continuous support on the ground thanks to its four wheels,
• It does not need to be lifted or repositioned with each step,
• It allows the user to keep one hand free to handle another aid, such as the white cane.

This configuration significantly reduces the attentional and motor load, facilitating walking while allowing effective use of the white cane.

Benefits beyond Visual Impairment

While this situation concerns visually impaired people, it also applies to other conditions where dual motor tasks are difficult:

• Hemineglect after stroke,
• Cognitive or attentional disorders,
• Parkinson’s disease,
• Elderly people with loss of coordination.

In all these cases, the Wheeleo® allows dissociation of walking from the coordination effort, offering better comfort, greater safety, and an immediate gain in fluidity.