Big Wheels Turning …
Israeli invention stands out — and up — in field of wheelchairs
Abigail Klein Leichman/Israel21c
T he robotic ReWalk exo-
skeleton from Israel’s Ar-
go Medical Technologies,
featured on prime time’s Glee,
Time magazine’s list of greatest
inventions of 2013 and at the Lon-
don Marathon, will be a hard act
to follow.

But the ReWalk’s inven-
tor, Amit Goffer, is hoping to
score another hit with a new
innovative wheelchair, UP-
nRIDE, designed for people
like himself who cannot ben-
efit from the ReWalk because
they are quadriplegic and don’t
have full functionality in their
arms. (The ReWalk is only to
be used by those who are para-
plegic and paralyzed below the
waist.). UPnRIDE will enable many
wheelchair users to be fully mo-
bile in standing position any-
where, including in an urban
environment, says Oren Tamari,
CEO of RehaMed Technologies.

“After seven years at Argo,
and after bringing the ReWalk
to where it is now, I am current-
ly working with Amit Goffer on
a new product that will improve
the quality of life and health of
all wheelchair users,” Tamari
says. “This is very meaningful,
because we know that not ev-
ery wheelchair user can use the
ReWalk. This new solution can
fit almost everyone who uses a
wheelchair.” As a category, the standing
wheelchair is not a new product.

These devices have been shown
to improve circulation, elimina-
tion and bone density, and could
also improve overall quality of
life and independence among
wheelchair users.

What’s different about the
UPnRIDE? “The twist we bring here is
Renderings of the UPnRIDE device illustrate how it can be of great assistance
to paraplegics at both home and the office.

18 MAY 14, 2015
THE GOOD LIFE
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM