While standing wheelchairs are offered on the market, UPnRIDE offers users the ability to take the device everywhere they go.
Late last month, the US Food and Drug Administration gave approval for a free-standing wheelchair that offered a different model of accessibility for those diagnosed as a quadriplegic. Offering options for individuals that prefer to stand, the UPnRIDE Robotics mobility device can move from a sitting to standing position and may be used indoors or out.
Dr. Armit Goffer, UPnRIDE founder, shared that this wasn’t just a project of innovation, it was an invention that deeply touched his life. As a quadriplegic, Dr. Goffer had looked forward to offering other choices in their mobility.
“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,” Goffer explained. “I have had a longstanding 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.”
While standing wheelchairs are offered on the market, UPnRIDE offers users the ability to take the device everywhere they go. Featuring an auto-balancing mechanism, it can help with fatigue or complications that come from remaining in one position for an extended period of time.
Additionally, the UPnRIDE device could be used by individuals who need mobility devices who are looking for ways to combat fatigue or pain that often comes with the repetitive motion of wheelchairs.
Over 5 million Americans experience pain from spinal-cord injuries. New Mobility, a magazine for wheelchair users, recently wrote about the benefit of CBD for individuals with SCI’s, or spinal-cord injuries.
Dr. Gregory T. Carter, a physiatrist in Washington state, shared with the publication that “Cannabinoids have immunomodulatory and neuroinflammatory properties, which contribute to the anti-spasticity and pain-reducing properties of cannabinoids.” He went on to explain, “The vast majority of my patients with SCI are using some form of cannabis. . . there is good animal model evidence that the cannabinoids work, at least partially, through some of the same pathways as baclofen.”