By Ben Rodgers
Staff Writer
HOWARD – Michael Soletski saw a need, got an idea and went to work.
Soletski’s daughter Holly had just given birth. She was young, active and not the type of person assumed to get blood clots.
He went to his wife, a registered nurse, and asked what’s causing this. Her answer boiled down to poor circulation.
“What can I do to create something?” Soletski said. “What do I have at my disposal to create something? The bottom line was a square block of wood.”
His idea was the base for the creation of something simple, but yet effective when it comes to increasing blood circulation.
“I’m an off-the-shelf type guy,” Soletski said. “I could cut this with a saw, sand it down and fiddle with it a little bit.”
His creation, dubbed The Peddler is slightly longer than a foot and due to an arc, to allows the user to rock their feet back and forth increasing circulation.
“If you take the mathematics out, it’s a common sense thing,” he said.
Soletski knew it worked and the science to back it up.
The difficult part now was getting the patent, which entails legal help and an extremely technical breakdown of the device and its purpose.
In 2009, roughly a year after filing, his patent was approved.
Soletski had a device and the intellectual rights to it. To complete the process he had to find a way to market and sell it.
Soletski went to Lakewood, Wisconsin and found a manufacturer. He also went through several packaging methods. Eventually he found the right combination.
“If somebody has an idea, although it may seem silly or stupid you have to take a look,” he said. “You’d be surprised how much better you feel about yourself.”
The Peddler is also making life better for others. The device is given to patients of Dr. Robert Limoni of BayCare Clinic for before and after surgeries.
“As a physician that performs surgeries that inherently increases your risk of developing deep venous thrombosis, I recommend The Peddler to my patients. It is a simple tool that can be added to traditional blooding thinning medications or mechanical compression devices to stimulate blood flow in the legs after surgery,” Limoni said. “In addition, leg edema, cramping and venous pooling that is promoted by prolonged sitting, traveling and sedentary lifestyles can also benefit from this simple exercise tool.”
However, with the invention of a useful tool comes some downsides.
Overseas companies have caught on and are now selling knock offs.
Soletski estimates the loss of revenue from this in the six figure range.
His only course of action would be to hire an attorney, and as a semi-retired land surveyor, he likely wouldn’t get very far with mounting legal fees.
“How do you fight against it? You’re screwed,” he said.
Instead of fighting Soletski prefers to keep inventing.
He has also invented and patented The Handy Cane, which keeps walking canes upright when not in use.
In addition he invented Walker Balls, an item to go on the legs of walkers that are more durable than alternatives adsorb less dirt and germs and glow in the dark as well.
All of his products are made in the United States.
They can be found at the-peddler.com.
Soletski wants young people to act on their visions and one day, maybe create something great.
“We are enjoying the journey and if you have an idea, don’t let it show up a few years from now by someone else,” he said.