15-year-old develops innovative stair climbing device

When she was 15 years old, Ruth Amos created the StairSteady as part of a school project. She was originally inspired to develop the StairSteady – a stair climbing device for the elderly or people with disabilities - for the father of one of her teachers. "It was initially for my teacher's father who'd had a stroke - we decided that we wanted to design something to help him because he'd been told to keep active but he wasn't able to", Ruth explains.

Contrary to other motorized stair climbing devices, like stair lifts, StairSteady is meant to help people with movement difficulties to stay active, working only as an aid, supporting the user while allowing them to remain active and independent. The device consist of a handrail that is fixed to the wall on either side of the staircase and a sliding handle that support the user while climbing up or down the stairs. The system contains a mechanism that allows the handle to slide when pushed but locks when weight is applied. This way, the user can strongly hold the hand with both hands apply force on the handle, using it as support to climb up the stairs but to prevent them from falling.

Ruth entered her invention for the Young Engineer for Britain competition and won first prize. Since then, she has created her own company and started comercializing the StairSteady, providing a new and cheaper offer for this market. "Our product will fit any width of stairs and it's also low-cost," she said.

Since its launch, the StairSteady has helped people with a wide range of needs, from people who suffer from stokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons but also to help in short-term conditions, for people recovering from sports injuries or requiring rehabilitation.

Adapted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7375486.stm
https://www.fortunamobility.com/stairsteady
https://newatlas.com/stairsteady-mobility-aid/13420/

More information: https://stairsteady.net/

https://youtu.be/E0AVkhL_g0Y