Atlanta-based startup Active Body Inc has recently received Patent #9,649,236 for its design of a wheelchair-rollator hybrid featuring a robotic lift.

The lift is designed to lift the wheelchair to a standing position, where walking is facilitated in a supportive frame, according to a media release from the company.

Active Body Wheelchair[1]

“This patent covers a new class of wheelchairs that encourages standing and walking for those who can still do so with some assistance,” says Active Body’s president, Charles Wike, in the release. “Health benefits from continued ambulation are significant and well documented. With the dramatic increase in the elderly population and the continued decline in the cost of robotic lift mechanisms, we believe that this concept will represent a significant market niche.”

The company seeks to license this technology and its intellectual property to medical device manufacturers.

[Source: Active Body Inc]