SJ native's device helps amputees bathe

COLLINGSWOOD - Michael Simonetti dedicated his 23-year military career to helping his fellow service members and thankfully, survived with no lingering scarring or physical damage.

Some of the friends he met along the way weren't so lucky.

"I have been to so many funerals and I wanted to give back to those who are not so lucky and have lost their body parts and incurred psychological damages as well," the Collingswood High School graduate and former U.S. Navy Deep Sea Diver told the Courier-Post.

Now a 54-year-old San Diego State University (SDSU) student working toward a masters in vocational rehabilitation counseling, Simonetti is in the business of helping lower-limb amputees do something non-amputees rarely struggle with: Standing in the shower.

Earlier this year, Simonetti developed the prototype for the Shower-Safe Base, a prosthesis that provides no-slip stability and easily attaches and detaches before and after a shower. The prosthesis is stable and features the same base used for quad-foot canes attached to a standard socket found on most prosthetic legs.

Simonetti designed the device over the spring semester as part of his Special Studies course. The project challenged students to come up with a solution for a person with a disability.

Simonetti said his friend and fellow military vet Frank Jones, a 45-year-old motorcycle and outboard motor mechanic with a right lower-leg amputation, told him the worst part about his day is bathing.

"His bathroom is so small that using a chair was not feasible," said Simonetti. "Instead, he stood on one leg to bathe. He fell many times, but it's the decades of standing on his one good leg that damaged his left hip."

Many other amputees face the same problem. According to Amputee Coalition, there are approximately 1.7 million people living with limb loss in the U.S., 86 percent of which are lower-limb amputations.

After watching the device change Jones' life, Simonetti now plans on making the Shower-Safe Base available to other lower leg amputees.

The product has moved past the research stage as SDSU will begin to fund the testing and licensing for manufacturing. Simonetti plans on having a busy summer growing his business venture.

Currently, Jones is the only user, but once Simonetti starts promotion and manufacturing through the college's business platforms, he's confident many people will want the product.

The target price for the Shower-Safe Base is $300 for now, but Simonetti hopes to lower the cost in the future.

"We want to get the cost of the device down so low that any lower-limb amputee on the planet can afford it. By researching exotic materials and 3-D printing, we hope to sell varying lengths and in a variety of colors and design patterns."

Matt Flowers: (856) 486-2913; mflowers@gannettnj.com