UpLyft
Providing An Independent and ‘Zero Lifting’ Transfer Solution for People with Mobility Challenges, Caregivers, and Nurses

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 24 million people in the U.S. are physically impaired. Managing day-to-day care tasks for these individuals requires caregivers to constantly perform manual lifting, transferring, and repositioning, which has become the leading cause of injury among nursing staff and hospital support personnel. To reduce these work-related injuries, safe patient handling programs have risen to the forefront of healthcare institutions’ priorities.

Addressing this need is UpLyft, the world’s first seated self-transfer system between bed and wheelchair for people with limited mobility. Physically impaired individuals can use UpLyft in the comfort of their own home to independently transfer between their bed and wheelchair without requiring any assistance from a caregiver or loved one.UpLyft also enables hospital systems and insurance companies to discharge patients with complex rehab needs earlier by ensuring their in-home mobility is smooth and efficient.

In healthcare institutions, UpLyft provides a ‘zero-lifting’ patient transfer solution for nurses and healthcare workers, eliminating the risk of injuries incurred from patient lifting. The device also helps patients on gurneys or in hospital beds who develop pressure ulcers from not moving for long periods. To mitigate this problem, UpLyft picks patients up and allows them to get some air into their wounds.

The engineers at UpLyft prioritized simplicity above all else when designing the solution. Recognizing that many patients use electric wheelchairs and are familiar with joysticks, UpLyft’s design has built-in joysticks, allowing self-transfer home users to seamlessly change their position from sitting upright in their wheelchair or reclining back into bed. The solution comprises multi-patented ‘curl panels’ that open and close around the individual during transfers from bed to wheelchair/chair or vice versa.

In addition to the joystick control panel, UpLyft also features external button controls, which allow caregivers, nurses, and healthcare workers to transfer patients without exerting any physical force.

“Our device provides zero physical lifting and offers aid for loved ones, caregivers, nurses, and healthcare workers so they can easily transfer patients from the bed to a couch, chair, gurney, or wheelchair,” says Craig Misrach, President and CEO of UpLyft.

Along with alleviating the physical burdens on caregivers, UpLyft assists healthcare institutions in reducing their workplace injury claims. In the current healthcare arena, workers’ compensation claims cost approximately $20 billion annually, with the leading driver being back and neck injuries caused by physically lifting patients.

Our device provides zero physical lifting and offers aid for loved ones, caregivers, nurses, and healthcare workers so they can easily transfer patients from the bed to a couch, chair, gurney or wheelchair

Delving into the firm’s genesis, Misrach shares a heartfelt story of Anton, a triple-degree engineer from MIT and founder of UpLyft. After his best friend got into a car accident in 2016, which caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down, Anton built the first UpLyft prototype in his workshop. This enabled his friend to independently move in and out of bed without requiring a caregiver’s assistance for over two years. Subsequently, Anton continued to build iterative new prototype versions and tested them across large patient pools, eventually growing UpLyft into a business with a large amount of technical expertise, client success, and 15 issued patents.

UpLyft is currently expanding its sales force by collaborating with existing dealers in the industry who install lifts, walk-in bathtubs, and other hoist technology across the country. Backing this strategy is UpLyft’s in-house VP of institutional sales, who wants to align with leading partners to create robust distributor relationships and grow the business. Further boosting its market accessibility are UpLyft’s leasing options that facilitate clients to acquire the revolutionary device at affordable monthly payments.

Moving forward, UpLyft is poised to remain a leader in the mobility aid provider industry by providing independence to individuals with mobility challenges and preventing injuries to caregivers, nurses, and loved ones.