Revolutionary wheelchair offers functional upright mobility on any terrain
There are around 70 million wheelchair users worldwide, but only 10% of that group has the sufficient upper body function to use devices that can help them stand and walk like crutches or the ReWalk robotic exoskeleton, according to Oren Tamari, CEO of UPnRIDE Robotics Ltd. The remaining 90% are still looking for a satisfactory solution for functional upright mobility, he added.
This is where UPnRIDE’s new mobility device comes in. ReWalk’s developer, Dr. Amit Goffer, is now developing a device that will help quadriplegics, people who are paralyzed from the neck down, be mobile while standing up.
Being a quadriplegic himself, Dr. Goffer was not able to benefit from ReWalk as its system requires the use of hands. So he started to develop a new mobility device that will meet the needs of quadriplegics and allow them to be fully mobile in both standing and sitting positions, indoors or outdoors.
UPnRIDE’s patented solution is actually a wheelchair that brings quadriplegics from a sitting position to an upright position. A set of jointed braces and harnessing straps provides support when transitioning between sitting and standing positions. Cutting-edge motion technology and real-time computing ensures automatic balancing and stability when UPnRIDE maneuvers on sloped sidewalks, parking lots and ramps, maintaining a constant center of gravity to minimize risk of hazards.
The device is suitable for most wheelchair and scooter users, including paraplegics, quadriplegics and people suffering from multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injury.
“The device straightens the users and, by an auto-balancing mechanism, they remain vertical to earth, even on slopes,” Tamari said. “There is no other device in the world that can do that.”
“By enabling upright mobility, UPnRIDE delivers numerous health, economic and societal benefits. It shifts attention away from the disability, providing wheelchair users with a fresh, new perspective of the world, of themselves and of life,” Tamari said.
The product also aims to be more affordable compared to other competitors in the market. “If a high-end power wheelchair costs US$15,000 to US$45,000, our product will be priced somewhere in the middle of this range.” ReWalk’s product costs around US$70,000, according to press reports.
The first commercial model, UPnRIDE 1.0, will be unveiled at the Rehacare International trade fair in Düsseldorf at the end of September.
The company has raised US$3 million to date, including a grant from Israel’s Chief Scientist and Jerusalem-based OurCrowd, a crowdfunding venture capital firm. It is now in the process of raising an additional US$4 million from investors, Tamari said.
“Our plan, by early 2017, is to have the first users ride the UPnRIDE, and we are confident that they will have a truly life-changing experience.”
Category: Features, Technology & Devices