Mealtime Partners, Inc.

The Front Mounted Drinking System for Slide-Track is an assistive drinking aid that was developed by Mealtime Partners to provide hands free access to liquids for our customers who have a very limited range of head and trunk movement, weak suction, and who, additionally, use wheelchairs that have slotted track rails (slide-tracks) instead of the tubular components used on the manual-type wheelchairs. The system consists of a heavy-duty Flex Arm that has a clamp on one end for attaching to the slot in the slide-track and a cup holder on the other. (For Front Mounted Drinking Systems for manual wheelchairs, click here.)

Front Mounted Drinking System with a 30-Inch Flex Arm for Slide-Track

 

The drinking system is mounted on the Slide-Track rails of a wheelchair using the Flex Arm Attachment Holder that is part of the drinking system. The Flex Arm is bent to position the cup holder, and the cup it contains, close enough to the user’s mouth that they can easily access the straw. Once bent, the Flex Arm shaft is very rigid and holds its position well.

Front Mounted Drinking System with a 24-Inch Flex Arm for Slide-Track

The cup holder can accommodate a variety of cups and bottles (that are provided by the user). For example, it can accommodate insulated coffee mugs and other assorted cups and bottles. It can also accommodate a Koozie to keep drinks cold. A flexible mounting arm allows custom positioning for each individual.

The Front Mounted Drinking System has several mounting options: Flex Arms come in 6-inch, 12-inch, 18-inch, 24-inch and 30-inch lengths, to accommodate different user heights (i.e., sizes), slide-track locations, and seating systems.

To select the most appropriate length Flex Arm for each individual, first choose on which of the wheelchair Slide-Track rail the drinking system will be mounted and where along the Slide-Track rail it will be positioned. Next, decide where the drinking cup should be placed to accommodate the individual’s drinking needs (head and neck positioning). Measure the distance between where the Flex Arm Attachment Holder will be located and the cup position. Add 3-inches to this distance, to accommodate the bend in the Flex Arm to orient the cup correctly, and select the Flex Arm length that is closest (but longer) to that length. Any additional length can be absorbed by bending the Flex Arm more.

Front Mounted Drinking System with a 24-Inch Flex Arm for Slide-Track

Because the cup is positioned in front of the user, a short straw can be used with this system. This close proximity allows those who have poor suction to be able to drink.

Front Mounted Drinking System with a 24-Inch Flex Arm for Slide-Track

The Front Mounted Drinking System comes with a Flex Arm Attachment Holder (that attaches to the Slide-Track slot), a heavy-duty Flex Arm, a cup holder with clamp, and a koozie. The cup holder can accommodate a variety of (user provided) cups and bottles.

Front Mounted Drinking System with a 6-Inch Flex Arm for Slide-track

The Front Mounted Drinking Systems are the easiest to clean of all Mealtime Partners drinking systems because they can be used with disposable cups, cans, or bottles; or, containers that are easy to wash. Also disposable straws can be used and there is no long drink tube to clean.

Independent drinking for disabled individuals made possible by the Front Mounted Drinking Systems can lead to better hydration and an overall improved quality of life

The Front Mounted Drinking System for Slide-Track is suitable for individuals who have limited movement and/or poor suction.

There are two types of mounting track types. When ordering, select option 1 - "UniTrack" if you have a Permobil wheelchair with the UniTrack rails; otherwise select option 2 - "Standard-Track" for all other wheelchairs with slotted rails.

FRONT MOUNTED DRINKING SYSTEM FOR SLIDE-TRACK PRICES: