RetroLift Electric Vertical Lift for Conventional Wheelchairs
Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 2012/05/08 - Updated: 2024/03/29
Publication Type: Product Release / Update
Category Topic: Mobility Aids and Devices - Academic Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main
Synopsis: RetroLift is a battery powered seat that attaches to a wheelchair and with a touch of a button can gain over 17 inches of vertical lift. Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, Radiologists, X-Ray Technicians, Physical and Occupational Therapists all perform physically demanding lifts every shift.
Introduction
The idea first occurred to the inventor - Dale Bell in the mid-1990s while working as a registered nurse in the home of a large man who had suffered a stroke. Simple tasks like moving him from a chair to a bed were daunting.
Main Content
The RetroLift is a battery powered seat that attaches to a conventional wheelchair. The wheelchair user sits on the RetroLift and with a touch of a button can gain over 17 inches of vertical lift making every day tasks easier and safer - getting a coffee cup from a cabinet, reaching for produce at the grocery, getting into bed, conducting banking business, getting a gallon of milk out of the refrigerator.
The RetroLift improves the quality of life, independence, and dignity for wheelchair users.
The RetroLift reduces the risk of injury to health care professionals that transfer or lift patients.
Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, Radiologists, X-Ray Technicians, Physical and Occupational Therapists all perform physically demanding lifts every shift. The RetroLift transforms a basic wheelchair into a viable vertical lifting device by raising the patient to the level of the examination table or bed. The health care provider can laterally transfer the patient instead of lifting or lowering them. In certain situations the RetroLift eliminates the need for costly and cumbersome lifting devices.
The RetroLift aids with getting an individual that has fallen back on their feet.
The patient is transferred onto the RetroLift and then raised enabling them to get their feet squarely on the ground to help regain the standing position. This application may be used in medical facilities as well as the home by care providers and fire departments that are called to assist fallen individuals.
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.