Devices & Diagnostics

Entrepreneur’s arthritic grandmother inspires a medtech fork + $9,500 IndieGogo campaign

When Rise Assistive Devices CEO Vadim Gordin tried to buy his grandmother a fork she could use more easily, what he found were forks jammed into bicycle handles. He used his biomedical engineering background to construct and 3-D print what would become the Easy Fork for her. What he thought would be a one-off has […]

By Lindsey Alexander on September 16, 2013

When Rise Assistive Devices CEO Vadim Gordin tried to buy his grandmother a fork she could use more easily, what he found were forks jammed into bicycle handles. He used his biomedical engineering background to construct and 3-D print what would become the Easy Fork for her. What he thought would be a one-off has turned into his full-time effort: to get Easy Fork into the hands (literally) of the more than 50 million people who might benefit from it.

He can make one fork a day on his own. Today, he’s launched an IndieGogo campaign to raise $9,500 to bring the hypoallergenic, dishwasher-safe eating utensil through to production. All said, patients and consumers can buy one of these forks (only for right-handed patients now) for $22. The campaign will end on Halloween, and Rise Assistive Devices only receive funds if the total goal is met.

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According to a release from the company:

Unlike existing adaptive utensils which require around 50 degrees of motion to scoop food and 90+ degrees of motion to skewer food, the EasyFork’s utensil is positioned so that a user never has to rotate their forearm or wrist more than 20 degrees from a neutral position. By keeping the hand within 20 degrees of neutral position, the entire eating process happens where users have the most strength and control.

The company claims their device is 80 percent easier to use than those already on the market.

The device could also help ease the pain of patients with cerebral palsy and those who have suffered a stroke. The device will be one of many to assist those with physical impairments to come from the startup, Gordin said in a release. Rise Assistive Devices is based in the  Launchpad Long Island  incubator in Mineola, New York.