Haverford High School graduate Garrett Brown, known for inventing the Steadicam nearly half a century ago changing how movies were made, has now come up with the Zeen, a wheelchair and walker hybrid, writes Nicole Leonard for WHYY. 

He’s selling the product through his company’s office and assembly warehouse in West Chester.

Brown’s first major invention that smoothly tracked action shots was quickly adopted by film studios in Hollywood and worldwide after it was officially launched in 1975.

Steadicam was used to record the well-known fictitious boxer’s climb outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art for Rocky.  It was also used by Stanley Kubrick in ‘The Shining’and to record the famous speeder bike chase scene in ‘Return of the Jedi.’

Brown won an Academy Award for the Steadicam in 1978.

Now when it appears his inventing days are over, Brown was inspired to create another item related to motion, only this time for the human body. 

The Zeen provides users a chance to safely explore movement and keep whatever range of abilities they have. 

“Our goal is to help them hang on to what they’ve got,” said Brown, “because you atrophy frighteningly quickly if you cease to use any given set of muscles.” 

So far, Brown sold around 300 devices, at about $3,900 each. He even gifted one to Pope Francis. 

Read more about the Zeen in WHYY. 

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