UPnRIDE, The Israeli-Developed Standing Robotic Wheelchair, Nabs FDA Approval

UPnRIDE Robotics announced last week that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the company’s robotic standing wheelchair, making it possible to market the device to customers in the United States.

The company says the device is the “first smart and robotic mobility device” that provides full functionality, both in standing and sitting positions.

“The approval of our UPnRIDE standing wheelchair is another very important milestone for UPnRIDE Robotics Ltd. in our mission to offer health benefits and improved quality of life to millions of people suffering from walking impairments,”  said Dr. Amit Goffer, the founder, and president of the company.

Goffer founded UpnRIDE in 2013 after he also founded ReWalk Robotics, the company that developed an FDA-approved wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides hip and knee motion to enable individuals with spinal cord injury to stand upright and walk.

“Empowered by the FDA approval, UPnRIDE Robotics Ltd. will now develop a distribution and service centers network in the USA to enable US users to benefit from this innovative product,” said Oren Tamari, CEO of the company. “By enabling upright mobility, UPnRIDE delivers numerous health, economic and societal benefits. It diminishes the visibility of the disability, providing wheelchair users with a fresh, new perspective of the world, of themselves, and of life,” he added.

The device is unique in that it provides users with safe and functional mobility in a standing position in almost any environment, indoors and outdoors. It is suitable for most wheelchair users, including paraplegics, quadriplegics, elderly and people suffering from MS, ALS, CP, stroke or TBI, the company says.

“I have had a long-standing vision that all people confined to a wheelchair should have access to enhanced mobility, and enjoy the many health benefits associated with the ability to get by in a standing position. With the introduction of UPnRIDE, this dream is becoming a reality,” said Goffer.

UPnRIDE announced earlier this month that it received $1 million in funding through the Israeli equity-based crowdfunding platform Together, according to a report in CTech by Calcalist.

The company is based in the northern Israeli town of Yokneam Illit.