JLife speaks to Israeli SitnStand co-creator Gal Goldner about the portable mobility product he co-created that’s now changing lives in the UK.
The saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ couldn’t have been more true for Gal Goldner and Iftah Geva, inventors of the portable smart rising seat, SitnStand. Designed for those who have reduced mobility or are living with disabilities, it helps them sit and stand in a controlled and safe manner.
After being approached by a friend to invent a solution to help their mother to rise out of a chair more easily and motivated by Gal’s own father’s increased accessibility needs, the two lifelong friends immediately got to work. Over the course of 10 years and after discarding around 200 prototypes, the final SitnStand was created.
According to the NHS, around one in three adults over 65 who live at home will have at least one fall a year. About half of these will have more frequent falls, while falls remain the most common cause of injury related deaths in people over the age of 75. Specifically related to sitting and standing, the Research Institute Amsterdam completed a study in a Bavarian nursing home which concluded that 41% of falls were due to unsuccessful chair transfers.
Gal and Iftah’s solution to this, the SitnStand, is a lightweight portable device that combines air inflation and ergonomic mechanisms to help elevate the sitter out of whichever chair they are sat in at the touch of a button. And as the product is portable, it can be lifted and transported to any seat – be it the sofa or a chair at the dining table – and can then be deflated in order to comfortably settle the user into a seated position.
Gal is an experienced entrepreneur with a degree in Engineering from Ben-Gurion University, while Iftah is an artist and entrepreneur. Best friends since their first year of high school, they stuck together through their engineering studies and their first business venture, before going on to conquer even the New York art world with some of Iftah’s unique creations made from crafting wood and carbon fibre. Together they established Life Assistant in 2009 to innovate independent living solutions using a combination of their entrepreneurial spirit and engineering know-how.
The SitnStand is a significant leap forward from the traditional static reclining chairs we all recognise, Gal explains: “Traditionally, electrically operated rise and recline chairs have been chosen to assist with sitting and standing. Nevertheless, they can prove costly and as an extra piece of furniture, only offer a permanent product that is not moveable. SitnStand offers an alternative or complementary choice. Being able to achieve safe standing and sitting while visiting family, friends, restaurants, theatres or while travelling is a completely new concept. From first-hand experience, I know the life-changing and priceless value that can be gained from independent standing.”
Vitally, the product had to be lightweight enough to be usable, ensuring that users could move the seat from sofa to dining chair, effortlessly: “We tried to make it as light as we can so they could take it from place to place, so it’s about 3.5kg.” The ease of using the product is demonstrated by a lovely photo on the SitnStand website by Gal’s own father, who sadly passed away suddenly two days after it was taken: “The picture is such a good memorial of him. We have stands that we travel with that have that picture on, so he’s travelling around with me everywhere.”
After intensive research and development in Israel, Goldner and Geva chose the UK as the first country to launch the product, recognising a receptive customer audience to the product and to potentially integrate the invention into the growing mobility market in the country. Gal added: “Culturally in society there is a strong desire to promote equality despite challenges within public funds and personal budgets. This attitude fit perfectly with the SitnStand idea as it provides a cost-effective solution for independence and re-enablement.”
The SitnStand team visit the UK monthly to give demonstrations and exhibit at various tradeshows including Occupational Therapy Adaptation Conferences (OTAC) throughout the year and The Occupational Therapy Show in Birmingham, which takes place in November. Recently striking up a crucial distribution deal with Lancashire-based specialist mobility equipment provider, Millercare, SitnStand is now available at stores across Manchester including Millercare branches in Manchester, Bury, Oldham, Stockport and Bolton, as well as Ability Matters in Sharston.
According to Gal, the feedback so far has been brilliant, especially in the UK: “A customer in Oxfordshire sent us an email that was so moving and touched me greatly. He said that using this product has given his wife her independence back, and I was really speechless. He told us that because of SitnStand he can go to the rugby or football and leave her at home or they can go to restaurants together and holiday on cruises again.”
“Because of that, it has been a privilege to develop the product and just speaking about it now it gives me goosebumps.
“I live in a kibbutz in Israel and when I’m there I love to help people. That’s still what I do now. Getting to do something like that has a unique value – it’s kind of priceless.”
To find out more about the SitnStand and to find your nearest stockist, visit Sitnstand.com.