Nova Scotia-born lift device aims to help seniors get back on their feet after falls

Nova Scotia technology provides a first-of-its-kind lift – aimed at enhancing mobility.

When Tracey McGillivray’s father began experiencing falls at home in 2019, she discovered how few safe, practical solutions existed to help older adults get back on their feet without outside assistance.

McGillivray, a retired technology executive, said her 81-year-old mother was unable to safely help her father, and too often the option was to call 911.

“We scoured the market looking for something that could help get him up [but] nothing would work,” she said. “Everything was too heavy, too cumbersome, took up too much space, or required too much bending and agile maneuvering.”

Seeing a gap in the market, McGillivray teamed up with fellow Acadia University alumnus and engineer Liam Masskant. Together, they developed a device designed to allow seniors to rise from the floor on their own.

The product called the Raymex Lift will be produced in Amherst, N.S., with initial units set to roll out later this fall. McGillivray said the company has already sold most of its first production run, and the device is set for simultaneous launches in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Europe.

McGillivray said support from research funding groups helped the idea move from rough plywood prototypes to a polished design.

“We were able to start out work back then largely thanks to Mitacs,” she said, pointing to the National Innovation Network’s funding and academic support.

All of the product’s research and testing was completed in Nova Scotia, with the first developments to begin through Veterans Affairs Canada. Atlantic Canada-based Harding Medical will distribute the product in the region.

McGillivray called it a “born in Nova Scotia story” that’s also meant to give seniors around the world the chance to live more independently at home.

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