U-M Mechanical Engineering sophomore Arianna Carley came up with an idea that recently garnered some national attention. Carley was among nine winners chosen at U-M in this year’s 1,000 Pitches competition. The competition, which began at U-M seven years ago has since spread the spirit of entrepreneurship to six other university campuses across the country since its inception.
Carley’s idea fell into the health category.
“My pitch was for an autonomous convertible wheelchair that is able to go from a sitting conventional wheelchair position to a raised bed position at the flick of a switch. This allows the patient to be moved horizontally from the chair to bed or vice versa removing the need for nurses to lift the patient or use a separate lifting device,” said Carley. “I am passionate about the idea because I have seen so many people suffer from the awkward, inefficient, and risky practices that are currently in place for transporting patients from chair to bed and back,” she added.
To read a full story by Nicole Casal Moore: