ATU744 – UpLyft with Craig Misrach

Hi, this is Craig Misrach and I’m the CEO of Uplyft, and this is your Assistive Technology Update.

Hello and welcome to your Assistive Technology Update, a weekly dose of information that keeps you up to date on the latest developments in the field of technology, designed to assist individuals with disabilities and special needs. I’m your host, Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. Welcome to episode 744 of Assistive Technology Update. It is scheduled to be released on August 29th, 2025. Today we’re joined by Craig Misrach, president and CEO of Uplyft, here to tell us about this amazing new transfer system. We also welcome back our friends from BridgingApps with an app worth mentioning. Thank you so much for listening folks. And don’t forget, you can always reach us at Tech@EastersealsCrossroads.org for email, or give us a call at (317) 721-7124. We always welcome your questions, your comments, or your suggestions for guests are always great as well. So thank you so much for listening, now let’s go ahead and get on with the show.

Next up on the show, listeners, please join me in welcoming back BridgingApps, with an app worth mentioning.

This is Ale Gonzalez with BridgingApps and this is an app worth mentioning. This week’s featured app is called Zuzanka. Zuzanka is an iOS app that can read expiration dates on products. Having said that, please note that it may not always be accurate, so you will want to have someone with vision confirm the information, if 100% accuracy is important to you. The app is free to install, but you are given a trial period to test the functionality and decide if you like it. For unlimited use, you must either subscribe to one of the subscription plans, or you can also purchase lifetime access for $79. The app is very easy to use, point the camera at the expiration date on a product and you’ll be told what the date is. Periodic beeps are used to help you know if you are getting close to scanning the label, the faster the beeping, the closer you are to your goal. Once the expiration date is found, you will hear a chime and it will be read to you. Zuzanka is currently available for only iOS devices, and is free to download. For more information this app and others like it, visit bridgingapps.org

Listeners, a lot of folks out there will know that transfers can be a struggle for individuals with mobility challenges and their caregivers. Our guest today is Craig Misrach, president and CEO of Uplyft, and he’s here to tell us about how Uplyft can assist individuals with transfers and independence. Craig, welcome to the show.

Thanks so much for having me here today. It’s a pleasure to speak to you and your audience about Uplyft, and I’m looking forward to the conversation.

Yeah, I’m excited to get into talking about Uplyft as well, but before we do that, could you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself?

Sure, no problem. As you mentioned in the beginning, I’m president, CEO of Uplyft. This is my third medical device company I’ve led as founder or CEO. Uplyft is the one that I’ve been most passionate about, not just because of where we are in helping people with limited mobility, as well as the caregivers and nurses who may take care of them, but it’s also a personal thing to me, as well as everyone in the company.

Both my grandparents passed away within 90 days of their first fall out of bed. Our largest investor, his father was bedridden for the last four years of his life. And again, that is a theme that permeates throughout our organization. So we’re very passionate about what we do, and I’m looking forward to talking to you more about how we’re helping folks around the country with Uplyft.

Yeah, and you talked a little bit about the passion behind Uplyft, and why everyone that’s involved is involved. I guess where did the idea come from? Because we’ll just start at the beginning.

Yeah, so 2016 is when the technology was first created by our late founder Anton. As the story goes, Anton’s dear friend in Truckee, California who was a Superior court judge, was paralyzed from waist down due to a car accident, a biking accident with another motor vehicle. Anton left us two years ago with a short fight with cancer, but his contribution to society, I think is just beginning to really be felt. Anton was a triple degree engineer from MIT, and a 35 year aerospace engineer, and he went into his garage and built the first Uplyft prototype in 2016, that his friend was able to use for two consecutive years to independently transfer out of bed. He was informed of even the need to do this when the gentleman, he weighed 275 pounds, he was a larger individual, his wife could not transfer him out of bed with existing lifting technology.

And so Anton, having done this before as a prolific inventor, and yes, he was a rocket scientist that took that, he did all the right things in incorporating the business, filed off all the patents, we have 16 issued patents. And he and I got together, we were introduced by a medical device contract manufacturer in 2020, and he was … as an octogenarian, Anton was 80 years old when he invented this in 2016.

He said, “Hey, I’m not going to be running this. I need a CEO who can do this.” And me having done this a couple times before, it was a match made in heaven. So a lot of what we do as well is in the spirit of Anton, and we’ll talk a little bit more. His son, who’s also an MIT grad, is our VP of engineering and I’ve been working with throughout that. So his memory lives on in everything that we do.

That’s so awesome. So awesome. And yeah, I guess sometimes it does take a rocket scientist, which makes me wonder if they all got the passion to create things to help individuals with disabilities. My goodness, where would we be? Well, Craig, we kind of touched on it a little bit there, but I guess tell me what is Uplyft?

Sure. So Uplyft is the first ever seated independent bedside transfer technology for people with limited mobility. Uplyft can also be configured with a portable hoist, which is what Uplyft attaches to. Many are familiar with Hoyer, almost like Kleenex or Xerox, but it’s a very commoditized space in safe patient handling, the hoist space. And so Uplyft can be used as well by spouses, caregivers and nurses to, within just a couple minutes with zero physical lifting required, transfer an individual bedside into their wheelchair, or some of our customers like to go bedside into their recliner, or with our portable version can transfer to even a bathtub or toileting, or into another room on a couch as well. And so we are the first in the world to have a seated independent bedside transfer solution. And folks are welcome to see our videos on our website at myUplyft.com, or on YouTube.

And I definitely recommend, we’ll put links in the show notes so that folks can go over and look at them, but definitely go look at them, especially if you’re at all familiar with transfers and kind of how they work. And I guess, Craig, we should probably kind go back. What was the process for transfer before Uplyft? What are some of the different ways that individuals would transfer?

Yeah, so many folks listening, whether they’re a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or an individual who may be a wheelchair user as an example, can be familiar with traditional hoists and cloth slings. Now there are mesh slings as well, and we’ve always viewed that to be almost an archaic, in some ways inhumane approach to transferring individuals. And all three of my companies I’ve either founded or led, have been really aiming to push for the technology advancement in a certain field. This field in this sector known as safe patient handling, has used that kind of traditional standard of care of cloth or mesh slings. More recently, over the last 10, 15 years, there are lifting belts where if you see … an OT or PT know exactly what this is, because you got to bend over with your lower back and physically lift. There are sit to stands, which really are for individuals who either can on their own, sit on the edge of the bed and stand up, or who need assistance to get from a sitting, supine, laying down position, to the side of the bed.

And then there are also scissor lifts, which can be perceived as very uncomfortable. The weight of the device really is underneath the armpits, so your armpits can have some discomfort, and they’re really just straps that barely go underneath your legs. So we’re taking it the next step from there, with a seated transfer methodology that wraps around your back, wraps underneath your legs, and not just encapsulates you so you’re safe, but it also can sit you up and then lift you up and left or right, if you’re independently transferring to the side of your bed.

The final thing I’ll state is, I get sent all the time videos around the world of different robots that may be on TikTok or otherwise, there’s not yet a robot cleared by any regulatory agency in the world to transfer an individual. And so while all that’s being developed, we’re doing the best we can as an FDA registered technology, that is now selling and available in commercial for people to use in their home as well as in healthcare facilities, whether that may be senior living, complex rehab, spinal cord injury centers and the like. So yeah.

Yeah, I don’t think we’re quite to the robot stage yet. And I got to admit, if I’m a wheelchair user, an individual with disability that needs that kind of help and transfer, I watched too many movies in the 80s and 90s, and I would just be afraid that that thing would learn to hate me. And I know that always ends up turning out bad. Craig, you talked a little bit about how this can be used with assistance or pretty much independently, I guess walk us through the steps, if I’m using it independently of … what will I do?

Yeah, sure. So back to Anton, our founder, we really took a lot of time to conduct usability studies on the intended user population, it’s an FDA requirement. And one of the things that we incorporated for the user to utilize are joysticks, no different than on an electric wheelchair. Many folks are able to maneuver the operation of a joystick. And so we have two joysticks, and if you’re listening to this podcast, just imagine you’re sitting or laying in bed and your elbows are at your side, and as long as you can have your elbows resting on your torso and your hands in front of you, you operate the joysticks right in front of you, no different than a video game controller, as an example. And so one controller allows you on the hoist to go up or down or left or right, since if you’re independently using it, you want to transfer to the side of your bed, where a wheelchair recliner may be.

And then there are the right joystick, it operates the Uplyft itself. So when the Uplyft, if you’re laying in bed, is approaching down towards you, you want to make sure that the panels are open. And as it goes to really the bed level, you start moving the joystick to the close function, and the panels start closing and wrapping around underneath your legs and buttocks, as well as your back. And then once that is locked, and there’s a bunch of safety features on the device to make sure you’re locked, and there’s a weight sensor on the device so that once 50 pounds is on the device and it’s locked, it’s not opening, you can then use the joystick to sit up, and it nicely sits you up.

For those people that may have a spinal cord injury or a scoliosis, you don’t have to sit up into a complete 90 degree angle. You can go 45 degrees, you can do 65 degrees, whatever is most comfortable for you. As we know, all folks, all individuals can come in all shapes and sizes. And so that articulation is a core part of our patents. And then as you sit down in your wheelchair or wherever you may want to reside, once you’re sitting down and that weight is dispersed, you simply open the panels and then you go up. As far as the assisted transfer methodology goes for nurses or lay caregivers, I have a philosophy with my medical device companies, make it so easy that your mother can use it. And in this case, our mothers many times may have to use it, or children, and it could be adult children who are helping their loved one. And so as an operator, you are standing to the side of the Uplyft.

There are caregiver handlebars that you can hold on for stability just to make sure the Uplyft is not rocking, or swing too much for the individual or user. And there are buttons on the device, they are press buttons for the caregiver or nurse, and they operate in the same exact function, up, down, left, right, open, close, lay down, sit up. So that’s pretty much how the technology works, we’ve tried to keep it simple.

No, I love that you made it simple, but I also love you said something very valuable there, of just that I can use those joysticks to sit at whatever level I want, and not be automatically forced into. I just think of some sling systems, and I don’t remember the names of which one or anything like that, but some that just kind of, I don’t know, I don’t want to say lump you in, but kind of the way they lift is just not quite as helpful. So I like that … and I’m sure just in the way that you talked about Anton a little bit, of course this was built in there, but being easy for the user, be it someone assisting, be it the individual themselves, but also allowing the person to use it in the way that they saw fit, and the way that’s going to help them. So I’m glad that was all built in that way.

Craig, you probably have a ton of these, but kind of as we’re talking along, can you tell me a story about someone’s experience using Uplyft?

Absolutely. The testimonials that we’ve been fortunate enough to receive from our customers, and I’ll take it even a step further, I still will go into homes from time to time. I want to see what’s working and what’s not, and I do get goosebumps even thinking about it, because when you’re helping restore independence for an individual that currently cannot transfer out of bed on their own, there are very few things in life that can be that rewarding, that you’re helping an individual restore something that’s so important. And we have a quote from one individual, that one of our customers who simply said, “Craig, I can now get out of bed in the morning and make myself a cup of coffee, and read the newspaper.” And obviously for independence as well, this is a really big button for some of our customers. It minimizes the need for certain individuals to need a home, at home caregiver or nurse last thing in the evening, or even first thing in the morning.

And that includes folks who may have a catheter that they use, if they can transfer and get out of bed, maybe that caregiver doesn’t need to come over for another hour or two, or they can leave an hour or two earlier, and that adds up over the course of the year.

One of our original customers who has since passed, and actually the son, the adult son purchased the Uplyft, and his father was 90, he had polio. He actually bought the unit for the caregiver just as much as for his father. And again, the quote is just simply, “It’s so user-friendly, and way more enjoyable to use than a Hoyer.” I’m not trying to pick on Hoyer, but it’s just what everybody knows as kind of the standard of care.

The other biggest compliment a customer can give you is by buying a second unit. And we have one customer that lives in Florida, Mike’s his name, he has a home in Michigan, he bought a second one. And so those are just some of the examples. And we also have one of our first customers, well, Jeffrey in Texas, again, his quote has to do with more helping restore his independence. He’s in his young 40s, tragic incident diving into a swimming pool, where now he’s a quadriplegic. And I will emphasize as well, we have many quadriplegics that are happy customers who, with the joysticks they can use their knuckle to be able to operate Uplyft. And so it’s not just for those who may be paralyzed, it can be for quads. Again, every individual is different, every wheelchair is different, but we have an array of different customers and caregivers that are very happy customers. And if you get on our website, you’ll see some of those testimonials as well scrolling across our screen.

And I think, I don’t remember what exactly it was you said in there that kind of triggered this of me just thinking, helping out the providers. Because I think almost everywhere be it, be it nursing homes, be it other places, assisted living, be it for individuals with older individuals with disabilities, there’s a big staffing shortage in all those different places. So anything to be able to assist, or even allow individuals, like you said, to do things independently, not have to rely on that person. Who doesn’t want a little bit two hours of time to yourself, maybe back at the end of the day or the morning? The things you take for granted sometimes about just being able to get up and make a cup of coffee when you want, and not maybe have to wait on somebody to get there because you woke up a little early. What just a great independence to be able to get back.

Exactly. And Josh, we have two video testimonials that actually we just commissioned from some of our customers. I’ll make sure you get the links to those. One is, I believe it’s a T-6 paraplegic, and then one of our customers with Multiple Sclerosis as well, who as many know, that can in advanced stages really limit mobility. And so you can hear from them yourself over video, their happiness with Uplyft.

Well, that’s always the best kind of testimony you can get, is from a user and just how much it can kind of help them. But it sounds like there was a lot of input taken throughout the whole process. I know there has to be for some of those certifications and other things, and to be recommended. Greg, if you can tell me, what’s on the horizon, what’s next?

Yeah, so look, we’ve been very fortunate to be able to digitally market and have a preponderance of our sales initially be direct to consumer for at-home use. We are now making a much more significant effort in healthcare facilities. And so any folks listening that may be an occupational therapist or physical therapist, I am sure, undoubtably, if it’s not yourself, you know someone in your field who’s encountered an injury from lifting patients. It’s actually, many are surprised to know that over 20 billion annually in workers’ compensation claim costs, are incurred in the US healthcare system due to back and neck injuries from patient lifting. It’s actually the largest driver of workers’ compensation claims in the US healthcare system. And so we’re just as much about helping the caregiver and nurses. And so we are making a big effort to commercialize and sell through, into spinal cord injury centers, PT, OT environments, rehab and, excuse me, senior living facilities as well.

And so that, from a strategic initiative and commercialization standpoint is where we’re going. We are also looking to expand our product design. And so capital that we raise, we raise private capital through various means, and we are looking to increase the weight capacity, as an example. We’re currently at a maximum of 300 pounds, we want to increase that to 400 pounds. There are also some accessories that we’re looking to incorporate and add as part of our continuous commitment to product improvement. And so those are some of the things that we’re working on right now. I could go on, but I realize the podcast is a short time. So those are some of the ones that we’re working on.

That’s all. Well, we don’t want to spill the beans on everything. I mean, this gives us an excuse to have you back once all these things come out. So we can have that. Craig, you said this is the very beginning, but what is a good way for our listeners to find out more about Uplyft?

Sure. Any of our socials, so we are on Instagram, we are on Facebook, generally our handle is MyUplyft. My M-Y, Uplyft spelled with a Y. so U-P-L-Y-F-T, MyUplyft, as well as our website. I will tell you as well, like I mentioned, we’re raising private capital, and you will see … it’ll be on our website, but in about 30 days we’re actually doing a crowdfunding campaign. It’s a little bit of back to the future. We started the company on a crowdfunding campaign five years ago, we’ve raised 5 million in private capital, and that’s included sophisticated family offices. We have a corporate venture capital firm in Europe, and then we have an unbelievable financing source, which I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, that’s actually based in Switzerland and opened an office in Silicon Valley. They’re named Kineo Finance, and what they do is they provide a leasing program for individuals.

And so while our price point, folks that can imagine this technology, it’s above the price point of a stair lift in a home, as well as a walk-in bath tub, but it’s not as high of a level as, for example, a ceiling track system that has to go to room to room. But that’s not for everyone, and while we’re still working on private insurance, and while there are some opportunities under the American Disability Act, we wanted to be able to provide a low-cost cash basis way for individuals to get into Uplyft, which they can for under $250 a month via leasing. And so our leasing partner has been a huge benefit, not just to us, but for individuals to be able to get into an Uplyft. But all that I’m bringing to the attention, because we have some great financial backing, but we are coming back to our communities that have supported us so well, by offering this crowdfunding campaign that will go live in about 30 days, where individuals in a very small dollar amount can participate in our equity offering, and hopefully have a little bit of piece of our plan success going forward.

Awesome. We’ll put links down in the show notes so folks can find the website, and find everything else to do with Uplyft. Well, Craig, thank you so much for coming on, for telling us about Uplyft again, what an absolutely cool device that’s able to bring back some independence for individuals that would probably have a lot of challenges without it. So thank you so much.

Absolutely. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say, “Our mission is to help restore independence for people with mobility challenges, and best protect caregivers from encountering patient lifting injuries.” And so for anyone listening, however we can help, do not hesitate to reach out. We absolutely have a social impact mission, and that is very much measured by the number of lives that we can positively impact and benefit.

Thanks again, Greg.

No problem.

Do you have a question about assistive technology? Do you have a suggestion for someone we should interview on Assistive Technology Update? If so, call our listener line at (317) 721 7124. Send us an email at tech@Eastersealscrossroads.org, or shoot us a note on Twitter at INDATA Project. Our captions and transcripts for the show are sponsored by the Indiana Telephone Relay Access Corporation, or INTRAC. You can find out more about INTRAC at RelayIndiana.com. A special thanks to Nicole Prieto for scheduling our amazing guests and making a mess of my schedule. Today’s show was produced, edited, hosted, and fraught over by yours truly. The opinions expressed by our guests are their own and may or may not reflect those of the INDATA Project, Easterseals Crossroads, our supporting partners or this host. This was your Assistive Technology Update. I’m Josh Anderson with the INDATA Project at Easterseals Crossroads in beautiful Indianapolis, Indiana. We look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.