Why we built SAW
16 Years of Watching. Then We Built It.
For 16 years, Joshua Sigsworth watched patients scoot down the stairs on their bottoms because rehab medicine never built equipment for stairs. So he designed the mobility device made for stairs.
Invented by a Doctor of Physical Therapy
3 USPTO utility patents
1-year limited warranty
Our story
It started with a question I couldn't answer.
I'm Josh Sigsworth. I spent 16 years as a doctor of physical therapy, working in acute care, skilled nursing, and home health. Everywhere I worked, the same thing happened. A patient was ready to go home, and the stairs at home were the only thing standing in the way.
It started in a clinical rotation at Baylor. I watched a patient scoot down a flight of stairs on his bottom, one step at a time, because there was no other way to get him home. I asked what we use for this. The answer was nothing. There was no device. There still wasn't, 16 years later.
So I watched people improvise. Scooting on their bottoms. Family members carrying a grown adult up the stairs. Shower chairs dragged somewhere they were never built to go. Rehab medicine has equipment for almost everything. For stairs, it had nothing.
So I built it. A napkin sketch became a real device. Nine years, over 10,000 hours, millions of dollars. This wasn't me doing this overnight. I designed this thing like a tank. It should not be breaking.
And I'm not done yet. We're going to keep improving this thing.
A real medical device. Not a workaround.
Josh's story is why SAW exists. Here's what makes it more than a story.
Clinically evaluated
SAW has been through clinical evaluations with multiple rehab hospitals.
Engineered and patented
Three USPTO utility patents. Built to a medical-device standard, not improvised from devices meant for the bathroom.
Backed by clinicians
Practicing clinicians sit on our clinical advisory board and within the company.
Recognized by the Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40 (2024).
The team
The people behind SAW.
The Doctor of Physical Therapy who built SAW, and the team bringing it to the people who need it.
Joshua Sigsworth, PT, DPT
Founder & CEO. A Doctor of Physical Therapy with 16 years of experience in home health, skilled nursing and acute care. He invented the StairAssist Walker, holds 3 USPTO utility patents, and was named to the Boston Business Journal 40 Under 40.
Matthew Gingras
Co-Founder & COO. Matt is SAW's COO and the engineer who designed the device, from the first prototype to a manufacturable medical product.
Michael Schumann
B2B Go-To-Market Lead. Mike leads SAW's B2B go-to-market, building the dealer and institutional channels that put SAW in front of patients.
Trent Warner
CMO. Trent leads SAW's direct-to-consumer go-to-market: the brand, the growth strategy, and how families find SAW and decide it's right for them.
Dan Apstein
CFO. Dan runs SAW's finances and the business model behind a medical device priced to actually reach the people who need it.
Eric Ankerud, JD
Legal & Business Advisor. Eric guides SAW's legal, regulatory, quality, and business strategy as it brings a regulated medical device to market.
The advisors
Clinical advisory board
Manijeh Berenji, MD, MPH
Chief of Occupational Health, VA Long Beach
Barry Bickley, MD
Hip and Knee Orthopedic Surgeon
Heather Cody, PT, DPT, GCS
Geriatric Clinical Specialist
Nikki Patel, MD, L.Ped
Principal, All American Medical Supply
See what 16 years built.
One device for walking and stairs. No installation. No prescription. The rolling walker made for stairs, designed by the doctor of physical therapy who spent 16 years watching patients need it.