TOPRO Step stair climber: Fredrik can finally walk up the stairs on his own again

The TOPRO Step stair climbing device – Fredrik and the stairs. The occupational therapists of the Levanger community believe that the new stair climbing device can help older people continue to live at home.

(This is a translation based on an article by Kristian Stokdahl, originally published in Innherred on October 13, 2016).

Contents

Difficulties with balance

On Thursday afternoon, the stair climbing device TOPRO Step was installed at home in Fredrik Okkenhaug’s farmhouse. This is the very first time that the stair climbing device TOPRO Step has been installed on a curved staircase.

Three former students of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) are the young entrepreneurs behind the stair climbing device TOPRO Step, which has already won several awards and accolades.

Now, the stair climbing device has been recognized as an aid by NAV (the Norwegian Center for Assistive Technology) and can therefore be requested like any other aid with the help of the municipality’s occupational therapist.

“I have fallen several times and last year I didn’t even dare to go up the stairs alone,” says Fredrik Okkenhaug, who suffers from balance disorders.

This was a big problem, as the bathroom is located on the second floor of our farmhouse. And it cannot be moved to the first floor.

With this stair climbing device, I can climb the stairs without any fear. I think that’s very good,” says Fredrik Okkenhaug after the first test runs where he goes up and down the steep stairs with the help of the TOPRO Step.”

The TOPRO Step stair climbing aid is a fully mechanical solution and therefore also works in the event of a power failure.

So far 60-70 stair climbing devices installed (Autumn 2016)

CEO and co-founder Halvor Wold explains that between 60 and 70 TOPRO Steps have now been installed throughout Norway. There is one in a senior home in Mule, one in Fredrik Okkenhaug’s neighborhood, which was privately acquired as a training device, and one each in a healthcare facility in Egge and in the residential and healthcare facility in Verdal. The latter two are accessible for testing.

The new healthcare facility in Levanger will soon also receive a stair climbing device.

“Fredrik’s daughter and I went to Egge to look at the stair climbing device, and both agreed that this will be of great benefit to him,” says occupational therapist Solrun Matberg from the municipality of Levanger.

With the installation in Fredrik Okkenhaug’s house, the entrepreneurs also receive proof that the TOPRO Step stair climbing device works even when the stairs are not straight and symmetrical.

Does not have to move into a nursing home.

The stair climbing aid TOPRO Step can be a good alternative to stair lifts or home renovations.
“Ultimately, one could say that there are people who have the possibility to continue living at home,” says Solrun Matberg.

“In any case, it is about giving people the opportunity to walk on their own stairs, which benefits their health and gives the user a sense of achievement,” says co-founder and CTO Ingrid Lonar.

In addition to the two who monitor the installation at Fredrik Okkenhaug, the company has two more employees. Eirik Gjelsvik Medbø is a co-founder and marketing chief.

Facts

  • In Germany, about 1000 people die annually from falling down the stairs and more than 600,000 suffer injuries.
  • Every year in Norway, about 50 people die an dover 30,000 are injured by falling on the stairs.
  • Every 20 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall in the USA. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/deaths-by-demographics/top-10-preventable-injuries/
  • The use of stairs in the USA is associated with 1,900 deaths and 1.3 million hospital visits per year (Source: National Safety Council 2011; Pauls 2011).

Watch our information video about the TOPRO Step.

TOPRO Step Informationvideo

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