care & love
Every day, caregivers around the world face the same demanding task: safely moving a patient from bed to chair, from chair to wheelchair, or between rooms. For a family member caring for an elderly parent and for a nurse working a hospital ward alike, a poorly planned transfer is one of the most common sources of injury — for the person being moved and for the person doing the moving. That is why choosing the right transfer equipment matters so much.
Two very different approaches have emerged to solve this problem. On one side is air-assisted transfer, the technology made famous by HoverTech and its HoverMatt system, which floats the patient on a cushion of air. On the other side is the embrace-style transfer device, such as the Hug Moving device from Mona Care, which supports the patient in a secure, gentle hold while moving them between surfaces. Both reduce the physical strain on caregivers, but they are built for different environments, different budgets, and different care situations. This article compares them side by side so you can decide which one belongs in your care setting.
Air-assisted transfer is a technique used mainly in hospitals and long-term care facilities. A special mattress is placed under the patient and inflated with air from a supply unit. The air creates a thin cushion between the patient and the mattress, so the patient can be slid laterally from bed to stretcher, repositioned, or boosted with very little effort. According to HoverTech's own product literature, the HoverMatt system reduces the force required to move a patient by 80 to 90 percent, which dramatically lowers the risk of musculoskeletal injury for staff.
The strengths of this approach are clear. It is excellent for lateral transfers in acute care, it handles very heavy patients, and it can be left under the patient for repositioning throughout the day. It is a proven, institutional-grade solution that has been widely adopted in hospitals around the world.
However, air-assisted transfer has practical requirements that are easy to overlook. It depends on a powered air supply unit, which must be available wherever the transfer happens. The mattress itself is a separate piece of equipment that must be stored, maintained, and — in the case of reusable versions — cleaned between patients. And because the system is designed around lateral sliding, it is less suited to the vertical, bed-to-chair transfers that dominate everyday home care.
Mona Care takes a different route. Rather than sliding the patient on a cushion of air, the Hug Moving device supports the patient in a secure, upright embrace while transferring them between bed, chair, and wheelchair. The design philosophy is right in the name: the patient is held, not hoisted, which feels far less clinical than a traditional lift and sling.
The Hug Moving device is engineered to reduce the physical burden on the caregiver while giving the person being moved a stable, comfortable experience. It has a compact footprint, which matters in home environments where space is often tight, and it is built with durable materials for long-term reliability. Because it does not depend on a separate air supply, it can be used anywhere — in a bedroom, a bathroom, or a living room — without extra equipment.
| Dimension | HoverTech Air-Assisted Transfer | Mona Care Hug Moving |
|---|---|---|
| Operating principle | Patient floats on a cushion of air and slides laterally | Patient is held securely and moved between surfaces |
| Best environment | Hospitals, operating rooms, radiology, long-term care | Home care, rehabilitation, small facilities |
| Equipment needed | Transfer mattress plus powered air supply unit | Single self-contained device |
| Typical transfers | Lateral transfers, boosting, repositioning | Bed-to-chair, chair-to-wheelchair, room to room |
| Caregiver training | Requires training on the air supply and mattress | Intuitive operation with minimal training |
| Maintenance | Mattress cleaning or laundering between patients | Durable, low-maintenance construction |
| Ecosystem | Standalone transfer solution | Pairs with nursing beds, wheelchairs, and other care equipment |
If you run a hospital ward or a long-term care facility where patients are frequently moved laterally between beds and stretchers, air-assisted transfer is a proven, powerful tool. The dramatic reduction in pull force is genuinely valuable when staff perform dozens of transfers every day, and the system is well supported by institutional training programs.
If you are a family caregiver or a small care facility, the calculation is different. You are more likely to move a patient between bed, chair, and wheelchair in a space that has no room for an air supply unit. In that setting, a patient transfer lift like the Hug Moving is often the more practical choice. It is compact, self-contained, and gentle enough for daily use at home.
There is also the question of the wider care ecosystem. Mona Care's transfer equipment is designed to work alongside electric nursing beds, walking robots, and wheelchairs, so a home or small facility can build a complete care setup from a single supplier. HoverTech, by contrast, focuses specifically on transfer and positioning.
HoverTech and Mona Care answer the same question — how do we move patients safely? — with different tools for different settings. Air-assisted transfer excels in high-volume institutional care where lateral transfers are routine. The Hug Moving device excels where transfers are vertical, space is limited, and caregivers need a simple, dependable solution they can use every day.
For a patient lift for home use or a compact patient lifting device for home use, Mona Care's Hug Moving is worth a close look. For hospital-scale lateral transfer programs, air-assisted systems remain the industry standard. Understanding the difference is the first step to choosing the right one for the people you care for.