Israeli invention: Wheelchair-bound groom stands under canopy

“You made our night as close as possible to perfection,” writes newlywed to makers of the UPnRIDE smart wheelchair, soon to go on the market.

By Abigail Klein Leichman, ISRAEL21c

Forty days before his marriage, a wheelchair-bound Israeli man named Adir wrote to UPnRIDE Robotics sharing his dream to stand under the chuppah (wedding canopy) with his bride, Liat.

CEO Oren Tamari invited Adir to company headquarters in Yokne’am Illit to try the UPnRIDE 1.1 mobility device, now in transition from research-and-development to market.

“We saw he managed well with it, and we arranged for him to use the device during his wedding” on November 12, Tamari tells ISRAEL21c.

The next day, Adir posted on UPnRIDE’s Facebook page: “Thank you all for [the] wonderful experience and magnificent night. Our chuppa was so amazing, people cried when [they] saw me standing and praying. My wife and I just want to say that you made our night as close as possible to perfection!!!”

UPnRIDE was invented by Amit Goffer, whose revolutionary ReWalk robotic exoskeleton allows paraplegics to stand, walk, navigate steps and even run marathons.

Goffer, who has a PhD in electrical and computer engineering, could not use ReWalk himself because he is a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down.

So he and Tamari formed a new company to develop an upright mobility solution enabling any wheelchair-bound person – quadriplegics, paraplegics, people with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, ALS and traumatic brain injury – to recline, stand and navigate indoors and outdoors.

Jointed braces and harnessing straps provide support, while advanced motion technology and real-time computing ensure automatic balancing and stability on uneven terrain. Goffer says other types of standing wheelchairs can’t be used outdoors because of the danger of tipping over.

UPnRIDE is now raising funds, working toward FDA clearance and doing usability studies with all kinds of wheelchair users.

UPnRIDE CTO and President Amit Goffer with his family at the July 2018 wedding of his youngest daughter. (UPnRIDE via ISRAEL21c)

A major study has begun at the US Veteran Administration’s Center of Excellence in New York to determine the health benefits for UPnRIDE users. Many health problems are associated with long-term wheelchair sitting, from muscle atrophy to cardiovascular disease.

Goffer, CTO and president of the company, doesn’t yet have his own UPnRIDE because the sample models are for testing. He borrows one on weekends and for special events – such as his daughter’s wedding last July.

Like Adir, he was able to stand under the chuppah and with his family for photos.

“My son and middle daughter were already married years ago,” he tells ISRAEL21c, “and it was a very different feeling at the wedding of my ‘baby’ because I was standing like the rest of the family. I was also able to mingle with guests as never before.”

Eventually, Goffer expects UPnRIDE to become his everyday wheelchair.

“I enjoy it because I can stand and sit easily whenever I want; I don’t have to be moved and lifted by someone else. It can recline, too, so it’s better for napping or receiving medical treatment.”

The smart wheelchairs are to be manufactured in a northern Israel factory run by Sanmina, an American electronics manufacturing services provider.

Tamari says the company plans to use proceeds from the current funding round for marketing, establishing mass production and developing advanced and new models.

Israeli technologyReWalk