Population curves for industrialized countries all around the world demonstrate one overwhelming similarity; they all reveal an aging population.  Clearly, both here and in Europe, the phenomenon is due to the ''baby-boomer'' generation and a much improved life expectancy.

Aging populations, naturally, put increased demands on health-care, as health issues relating to aging - physical deterioration and break-down, disease and damaged organs - become more prevalent.  Statistics provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. estimate that over 46 million adults have been diagnosed with arthritis to date, and that over the next 15 years, 50% of all people 65 years of age and older will suffer from this crippling disease.

Of all the chronic diseases known to man, arthiritis is the most disabling, with associated direct and indirect economic costs estimated at over $128 billion, to which we must add the social costs for the 41% of all sufferers who will have to cope with reduced autonomy and mobility.

And let us not forget the other diseases associated with aging which are often accentuated by this loss in mobility, such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, cancer, stress-related diseases, central nervous system diseases, depression...and the list goes on.