The Client:
Sustainable Medical (SM) is an ambulatory healthcare services provider founded in 2018 in Clearwater, Kansas. The practice is a proud distributor of SoftWave TRT, LLC (SWTRT) acoustic regeneration therapy, which is a unique treatment specializing in shock wave therapy. SWTRT is committed to the scientific advancement of tissue healing and regeneration for better patient outcomes. In order to provide shock wave acoustic regeneration therapy to patients, SM reps must always bring a heavy SoftWave tabletop device with them to the various facilities they travel to when treating patients.

The Clientâs Issue:
When using a SWTRT acoustic therapy device, care providers must be extremely careful as proper precautions must always be taken to ensure that devices arenât damaged during transportation as these devices are quite heavy and expensive to replace. This was the problem that Sustainable Medical found themselves facing because not only was it difficult for their reps to safely transport a SWTRT device from one facility to another, but it was also difficult and time consuming to transport the device just from one patient room to the next.
âIt was difficult carrying our equipment in and out of facilities,â said Chad May, President & CEO of Sustainable Medical, âEach SoftWave device weighs about 50 lbs. when itâs all boxed up so we needed a cart that would make transporting these machines from our van into a facility much easier.â

SM care providers use SWTRTâs âOrthoGoldâmodel which requires water to be poured into the device for it to provide its own distinct version of shock wave therapy. Further difficulty was added to SMâs problem by the fact that the OrthoGold must have all its water drained before the machine can be turned off and unplugged, requiring care providers to drain then refill the device after treating each patient. After unplugging the OrthoGold, the device can take five to ten minutes to reboot so the continued filling and draining routine inevitably increased the time required to treat each patient, which directly affected how many patients SM could treat in one day. Because of these issues, SM needed to find an improved way to transport their equipment not only into patient facilities from outdoors, but also from one patient room to another within the same facility in a much timelier manner.
Helping To Find A Solution:
Unable to find an existing solution that would help to ease the issue of transporting their SWTRT devices, Sustainable Medical concluded that they would need a custom product designed specifically to meet their practiceâs own unique needs. This reoccurring transportation issue eventually led to a phone call with The Harloff Company, and a tailor-made action plan for SM was quickly put into place.
âA friend of mine whoâs also involved with medical sales had experience working with Harloff and he recommended I contact them.â Chad noted when asked why he decided to contact Harloff. âMy friend had previously sold some of Harloffâs products and had a good relationship with them so they sounded like the right company to partner with to build a custom cart that could help us better transport our equipment.â
A new custom-built cart would need to be engineered, one capable of safely securing an OrthoGold device while transporting it into, out of and throughout the facilities SM care providers frequently visit without having to constantly reboot the device.

With a clear goal in mind, the Harloff Engineering Team got to work developing the first âMDS1824K-SWAVEâ prototype. This never-before-seen cart was designed with a slender two drawer cabinet and a small open equipment holder located beneath the drawers where a variety of medical equipment â including a special battery backup mobile UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) system that an OrthoGold could plug into instead of a wall outlet – could be stored. The finished cart was just wide enough for an OrthoGold machine to comfortably sit on top of the cabinet with a skid-resistant vinyl black mat helping to prevent the device from bouncing around during transport. The new MDS1824K-SWAVE was also designed with straps and brackets on top of the cart to ensure that a SWTRT device could easily be strapped down firmly in place whenever the cart is in motion.
Another key enhancement that made the MDS1824K-SWAVE a perfect solution for SMâs unique needs was the installation of two large âoffroadâ wheels on the back of the cart. These enlarged wheels allow for much more shock absorption while keeping the cart balanced on uneven or rough surfaces such as gravel, making it much easier for SM staff to transport SWTRT therapy devices from their vehicles into facilities. Further easing the transportation of this new cart was the modelâs extended push handle and a foot pedal at the bottom of the cart which allows the cart to be pushed, pulled or turned in any direction with little effort.
The final key beneficial features of the MDS1824K-SWAVE include side utility hooks that act as a cord wrap to stow the OrthoGoldâs cables as well as a wire basket that affixes to the back of the cart where gel, wipes and other disposable supplies can all be stored together in one easy-to-access location.
The Results:
Since receiving their MDS1824K-SWAVE, Sustainable Medical has had a much easier time transporting their indispensable SoftWavedevices into facilities and from one department or area to the next. The cartâs special offroad wheels have made moving this crucial equipment indoors much easier while the top straps and brackets ensure that every OthoGold machine is securely fastened during transport â a much safer option than carrying the heavy equipment by hand with Chad noting: âThe cart is performing exactly like we needed or expected it to.â

The MDS1824K-SWAVEâs special design allows SM care providers to now utilize the cartâs battery backup UPS system (located at the bottom of the cart) to keep their OrthoGold devices running while transporting the device from one patient to another before plugging the UPS system back into a wall outlet within each new treatment room. Being able to keep their devices running in this manner has helped to save SM valuable time by not having to constantly drain and refill their devices in-between treating each patient, allowing staff to treat more patients in a day. The MDS1824K-SWAVE has already been such a success for SM that a fellow acoustic regeneration therapy provider took note of the new product, requesting their own version of the cart but with our standard casters installed rather than the offroad back wheels as the fellow provider intends to keep the cart inside their facility at all times.
Sustainable Medical had a special problem that required a custom solution designed specifically to meet their practiceâs individual needs. Always ready to take on new custom projects, Harloff was more than happy to oblige their request for a custom solution that would make transporting their essential SoftWave acoustic regeneration therapy equipment much easier. Harloff delivered an ideal solution to resolve SMâs equipment transportation problems, and we would be honored to help develop a similar custom solution for you at your facility!