MANTARAYA PROJECT
Free diving for All
By Jean-Pierre GALLO Engineer/Professor

I designed the Dynamic and Active Orthosis concept which can be used in association with the underwater traction device "MANTARAYA", created a few years ago. This is a concept enabling both paraplegic people and sportive divers to swim underwater the same way as dolphins. This disruptive innovation throws swimmers into a new value network where animals are the mighty model.
Patent pending: PCT/FR2017/000200. Published on May 3,2018. N°WO 2018/078224

HOW TO CARRY OUT THIS CHALLENGE

The diver stays in the wake of MANTARAYA and he adapts the incidence of the monofin by mean of a remote control fitted on the traction device. He pilots the yaw by rotating MANTARAYA about a vertical axis. As the drift (2) keeps the legs along the trajectory, the diver’s body is in extension & weightlessness. This type of dynamic balance with ripple is particularly adapted to new healing methods:

Aqua therapy is the key to success for paraplegic people recovery. Read for more: https://www.hydroworx.com/research-education/additional-resources/aquatic-therapy-injury-rehab-time/. After two years of treatment with an electric pulse generator and extensive rehab, a 32-year-old man has regained the ability to stand on his own. Read for more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5033021/Paraplegic-man-stands-six-years.html.

So paraplegic people can easily practice free diving and speed up their physical recovery, using D.A.O concept in association with an adaptation of Medtronic’s spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES), for example.

IDEAL EQUIPMENT for a well-defined, significant market.

Free Diving for All : MANTARAYA + D.A.O (KIT1)
Aqua-Therapy: KIT1 + Optional electric pulse generator suitable for swimming, destined to paraplegic people recovery. Aqua-Fitness & Learn Swimming as a Dolphin: KIT2 without MANTARAYA: in automatic oscillation mode, the D.A.O concept can also be used according to different levels of pneumatic assist: from 0% as a standard monofin, to 100% like a bionic thruster. The remote control is mounted on swimming paddles. This configuration is destined to sportive people without disability & paraplegic athlet.

Conclusion for MANTARAYA project’s success

MANTARAYA project could be successfully completed thought the association of a leader in medical recovery devices with a leader in personal aquatic equipment for swimming, aqua fitness and free diving.

For this purpose the European Research and Development Funds are very interesting: The SME instrument has been designed specifically for single or groups of highly innovative SMEs with international ambitions, determined to turn, innovative business ideas into winners on the market.....Read for more: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/sme_participation.html.

Advice, support and opportunities for international partnerships: https://een.ec.europa.eu/.