FDA Clears Israeli-Developed Standing Robotic Wheelchair UPnRIDE For US Distribution

UPnRIDE Robotics announced on Thursday that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its Robotic Standing Wheelchair for marketing and use across the United States. The UPnRIDE will become available to wheelchair users and the elderly in the US, the Israeli company said.

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

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

“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 perform everyday tasks in a standing position. With the introduction of UPnRIDE, this dream is becoming a reality,” said Dr. Goffer, a quadriplegic himself following a vehicle accident. He is also the founder of 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.

UPnRIDE CEO Oren Tamari said that “by enabling upright mobility, UPnRIDE delivers numerous health, economic and societal benefits.”

“It reduces the visibility of the disability, providing wheelchair users with a fresh, new perspective on the world, on themselves, and on life,” Tamari added.

The company, founded in 2013 in northern Israel, said it will now begin developing a distribution and service center network in the US.