French school friends design tilting chair to help with mobility issues

Two French school friends have marketed a mobility chair that they first invented as a class project after seeing the problems one of their grandfather's had standing up.

Yannis Ksantini and Clément Blanchard met at school in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It was there that they had the inspiration to create the Alyzée mobility chair.

They went on to perfect the design, win innovation prizes and co-found Upper, all thanks to Clément's grandfather, who had Parkinson's disease.

“At that stage of the disease, Clément’s grandfather did not have the strength in his arms and legs to stand up from his chair.

“When he had carers with him, he could stand with a bit of help, but when they left it was terribly frustrating for him.”

The two teenagers designed a chair on four lockable wheels, with strong arm rests and an electric tilting mechanism to tilt the seat 45 degrees.

Ergonomics experts helped with the calculations and estimate that using the chair reduces the amount of force needed to stand from it by half.

Years later, after one had joined the airforce and the other had been to university, they decided to make the design a reality: the Alyzée chair.

Inventors' accolade

After spending a year perfecting the design and manufacturing process, the friends started selling the first models through a crowdfunding site.

They then entered the French inventors’ fair, Concours Lépine, and won a gold medal in their category.

“Winning in Concours Lépine was a great help and we sold the first 50 pre-order chairs more or less from the show,” said Mr Ksantini.

“What is very gratifying is that we are getting a lot of positive feedback, with people saying the chair has transformed the lives of the people using it.”

The company is based in Besançon (Doubs). A sub-contractor near Dijon makes the metal parts, which are assembled in the Paris region.

Each chair costs €1,250, but people on aide à domicile or allocation personnalisée d'autonomie (APA) might qualify for grants of up to €400 to help buy it.

Around 20% of the first chairs sold went to people who obtained grants.

The Alyzée chair is also the right height for users to propel it with their feet, and has a solid back, so if necessary, can be used as a walking frame too.

Read more: French benefits: help for over-70s and disabled people to live at home

Backing for the company came from a number of French organisations supporting start-ups – and from the Ministry of Defence, which the two friends had links to via their schooling at an école militaire. 

These are boarding schools for the children of soldiers and fonctionnaires, allowing them to be educated in France while their parents are stationed abroad.

The school had also encouraged them with the initial project, introducing them to ergonomics experts for example, whom they were later able to reconnect with when they decided to pursue the project seriously.