Quadriplegics Are Now Able to Stand Up Again, Thanks to Israeli Inventor, Who Himself is Quadriplegic

Quadriplegics, those who are paralyzed from the neck down, are now able to stand up and move around thanks to Israeli inventor Dr. Amit Goffer, who himself is a quadriplegic. Dr. Goffer, who previously founded ReWalk, an exoskeleton for paraplegics, designed a new robotic device that provides upright and seated mobility for people confined to wheelchairs. UPnRIDE enables quadriplegics and other people confined to wheelchairs to stand up and increase their mobility. The UPnRIDE robotic device is highly safe and stable. It uses a gyroscope and sophisticated algorithms to maintain stability and can be driven up and down on lateral slopes as well as on straight surfaces, thus providing full functional mobility both indoors and out. Standing up vertically enhances overall health and reduces secondary complications of long-term sitting. The results manifest themselves in a decreased demand for hospitalization, medication, and physiotherapy, thereby cutting costs for insurers and patients. Standing in an upright position also provides psychological benefits, enabling users to more easily maintain eye contact during conversation and thus enhance social inclusion. UPnRIDE is CE approved and received FDA approval for sale in the United States in 2019. While the company was finalizing the prototype, it was able to help a wheelchair-bound Israeli groom, paralyzed in a car accident during his army service, surprise his bride and guests by standing upright under his wedding canopy.