Recovery doesn’t end when a patient leaves the hospital, especially when they return to a multi-level home with limited strength.
Many mobility devices are designed for flat hospital floors. Our design prompt asked us to improve mobility and autonomy for post-surgery patients, so we focused on the exact group that struggles most with stairs, partial weight bearing, and dependence on caregivers.
Which patients actually need stair-friendly walkers?
Walkers are great on flat surfaces, not on elevation changes.
We convert the support force patients already use into stair assistance.
As the patient leans down and pushes forward, the wheels help convert that forward pushing force into stair climbing power. No need to lift the whole walker.
Tuned for typical indoor stair heights so the motion is predictable and repeatable for recovering patients.
Contains a back-leg adjustment mechanism to prevent the walker from tipping backwards when the user is on a stair. Additionally, in design, includes a stair safety lock to prevent rollback between steps, matching the autonomy goal of the original prompt.