SureStand Cane - Never Bend Over for A Dropped Cane Again!
Year 1 (2025-26)
by Cory Scholler
A cane with a counterbalance at the base that allows the cane to always be right side up! For anyone who risks injury from falling over when a cane is dropped on the ground.
About This Idea
As I got older so did my loved ones, and this meant that eventually I had multiple grandparents who needed canes as assistance to get around safely. However, traditional canes are unstable when not actively held. They frequently fall to the ground when leaned against furniture, set beside a chair, or accidentally dropped and this resulted in multiple falling injuries reducing their freedom of mobility significantly.
Retrieving a fallen cane requires bending, which can be difficult and unsafe for elderly users. In many cases, this creates a secondary fall risk — the very device designed to improve stability can unintentionally contribute to injury when it becomes inaccessible.
While quad-base canes (3–4 feet) offer improved stability, they can still be knocked over, tipped, or dropped. There is currently no widely adopted solution that ensures a cane remains upright and easily accessible after being released.
The proposed solution introduces a self-righting cane with a weighted, rounded base designed to automatically return to an upright position if dropped or pushed over. The counterweighted base prevents the cane from resting horizontally on the ground, allowing it to "pop" back up to a reachable position without requiring the user to bend down.
There are 2 opportunities for this idea that can maximize the market size:
1. Fully assembled self-righting cane for new users
2. Universal weighted-base attachment compatible with existing canes that have removable rubber tips
By ensuring the cane remains upright and accessible at all times, this innovation reduces bending-related fall risk and increases independence for mobility-impaired users.
Where Did This Idea Spark at WMU?
This idea came from going to school here in Michigan while having all my family in a different state. As often as I got to go home I still worried as loved ones got older and struggled with more and more health issues. All I could think about is what can I do to help without being there. Throughout classes in multiple facets of engineering here at Western I had the opportunity in senior design and other classes to take an idea from scratch and bring it to full-blown reality. This is an idea that solves a problem and helps support a personal missing that is very important to me.
Impact in Kalamazoo
A significant portion of the population will rely on a cane at some point in life due to aging or injury. By rethinking assisted mobility, this product makes a tool designed for independence even safer. One study estimates that more than 47,000 adults aged 65 and older visit U.S. emergency rooms each year due to cane- or walker-related accidents, often resulting in fractures, contusions, and lacerations. This innovation has the potential to reduce those risks.
Beyond injury prevention, it offers peace of mind to families and caregivers who worry about loved ones navigating daily life with a cane.
How Investment Helps
Securing funding would transform this concept from a homemade 3D-printed prototype into a professionally manufactured product designed for mass market impact. Partnering with suppliers, refining tooling, and moving through validation quickly become expensive, and without capital, those costs can limit the ability to scale and reach customers.
With funding, I can move beyond validation and complete an initial production run of 100+ units to gather meaningful market feedback. These units would be placed in local senior living communities to collect real-world insights while immediately improving mobility safety. Partnering with organizations like Bronson in Kalamazoo and other regional health centers provides access to diverse users and valuable feedback to refine the product for broader distribution.
What I'll Do With the Money
3D Printing, Prototype Materials, & Securing a Manufacturer - 25%
Patent Process - 10%
Marketing - 15%
Distribution and Inventory - 50%
About the Founder
I’m Cory Scholler, a graduate student in the IE program. I began in Mechanical Engineering before transitioning to Engineering Management Technology, graduating as the Top Engineering Management Student in ’22. I now work as a Senior Industrial Engineer at DENSO. I previously earned a patent in 7th grade through a national business competition and later built a six-figure Air Freshener e-commerce company. This is the next step in my entrepreneurial journey and opportunity to make an impac!