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Sometimes great ideas arrive in simple packages. Such is the case with the 2008 da Vinci Award winning Brake-Well system, and the Pushrim Activated Power Assisted Wheelchair. This year's da Vinci Awards, presented by the UAW-GM, have recognized uniquely functional, yet simple and affordable technologies which assist those who depend on the "traditional" wheelchair for mobility. Two of the winners of this year's da Vinci Awards offer those depending on wheelchairs, some welcome relief. They are:

Brake-Well Wheelchair Braking System: is essentially a set of brakes for wheelchairs, which may allow the handler to safely stop the wheelchair while it is in motion, or negotiating an incline. With the Brake-Well Wheelchair Braking System, the disabled, and those who help them, don't have to worry about traveling on ramps or the need to make sudden stops. It also serves to create a walker out of a wheelchair.

Pushrim Activated Power Assisted Wheelchair (PAPAW): Created by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, the PAPAW is a wheelchair option for those who have upper extremity joint degeneration, reduced exercise capacity, low strength or endurance issues. The compact, lightweight PAPAW is very maneuverable and reduces the amount of fatigue while increasing the range of mobility for its user.

Sponsored this year by the UAW-GM, whose Vice President, Cal Rapson, is the Leadership Chair, the 2008 da Vinci Awards%26reg; will be presented Saturday, September 20, 2008 at The Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, Mich. The gala event (black tie optional) features a cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, entertainment, awards program and an afterglow with the da Vinci Awardees. For information on sponsorship or tickets, please visit the Web site at http://www.davinciawards.org or call (248) 936-0349.

MS stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn't. We help each person address the challenges of living with MS. In 2007 alone, through our home office and 50 state network of chap¬ters, we devoted nearly $136 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. To move us closer to a world free of MS, the Society also invested more than $50 million to support 440 research projects around the world. We are people who want to do something about MS NOW.

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