YouTransfer, YouDesign: A participatory approach to design assistive technology for wheelchair transfers

Transferring independently to and from their wheelchair is an essential routine task for many wheelchair users but it can be physically demanding and can lead to falls and upper limb injuries that reduce the person’s independence. New assistive technologies (ATs) that facilitate the performance of wheelchair transfers have the potential to allow wheelchair users to gain further independence. To ensure that users’ needs are addressed by ATs, the active involvement of wheelchair users in the process of design and development is critical. However, participation can be burdensome for many wheelchair users as design processes where users are directly involved often require prolonged engagement. This thesis makes two contributions to facilitate wheelchair users’ engagement in the participatory design process for ATs, while being mindful of the burden of participation. The first contribution is a framework that provides a modular structure guiding the participatory design process from initial problem identification and analysis to facilitating collaborations between wheelchair users and designers. The framework identifies four factors determining the need and adoption process for ATs: (i) People focuses on the target population, (ii) Person includes personal characteristics, (iii) Activity refers to the challenges associated with the task, and (iv) Context encompasses the effect of the environment in which the activity takes place. The second contribution constitutes a rich picture of personal and external elements influencing real world wheelchair transfers that emerged from four studies carried out to investigate the effect of the framework factors on the design process for ATs. A related outcome based on these contributions is a framing document to share knowledge between wheelchair users and designers to provide focus and promote an equal collaboration among participants

Int J Ind Ergon

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) remain a major concern for workers in the healthcare industry. Healthcare workers are at high risk of work-related MSDs mainly caused by overexertion from manually handling patients. Exoskeletons may be a useful tool to help reduce the risk of MSDs during patient handling. As a review study, we surveyed articles focusing on applying exoskeletons to patient handling tasks specifically. We also reviewed relevant government databases and other studies related to Safe Patient Handling and Mobility (SPHM) programs and exoskeleton applications in general. The exoskeletons specifically designed for patient handling were found to be sparse. To have a better understanding of the needs and challenges of developing and using exoskeletons for reducing risks of work-related MSDs in healthcare workers during patient handling, this critical review (1) provided an overview of the existing issues and projected future burdens related to work-related MSDs during patient handling tasks, (2) recognized current and potential roles and applications of existing exoskeletons, and (3) identified challenges and needs for future exoskeleton products. In conclusion, we do not expect exoskeletons to replace the existing SPHM programs, but rather play a complementary role to these multi-pronged programs. We expect that emerging exoskeleton products can be introduced to uncontrolled or specialized healthcare environments. There are various expectations and requirements for an exoskeleton used in different healthcare settings. Additionally, introducing certain types of exoskeletons for patients to assist them during treatment and rehabilitation may help reduce the MSD risks to the healthcare workers.CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/2022-08-02T00:00:00Z35924209PMC934550711722vault:4305

Biomechanical analysis based on a full-body musculoskeletal model for evaluating the effect of a passive lower-limb exoskeleton on lumbar load

The present study investigated the effect of a passive lower-limb exoskeleton on lumbar load and verified the effectiveness of biomechanical analysis for evaluating the physical burden while wearing the exoskeleton. Twelve healthy male participants performed an assembly task under three conditions: standing and high and low sitting while wearing the exoskeleton. We mainly analyzed the joint compression force computed using the musculoskeletal model based on measurements obtained from a motion capture system and force platform. While wearing the exoskeleton, the lumbar joint compression force increased. Analysis of the joint compression force can determine the increase in the lumbar load when wearing an exoskeleton, which is not possible using the traditional analysis of posture and muscular activity. Therefore, biomechanical analysis based on a full-body musculoskeletal model provides valuable information in evaluating the effect of the exoskeleton that attempts to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.Comment: 46 pages, 10 figure

慣性センサおよび力センサを用いた立ち上がり時の関節角度推定手法に関する研究

Standing-up motion from a chair is directly connected with walking and which is frequently performed every day. It is difficult for some elders because of the weakened function of muscles or motor. The training of standing-up motion and assisting the elderly with the standing-up motion from a chair is important to the elderly Quality of Life (QOL). Analysis of the posture parameters during standing up motion is useful for the physical therapists and care-giver in rehabilitation training or movement assist. The motion capture system can measure the movement of body posture in any direction precisely. However, it is difficult to use in daily life because of high cost and specific requirements for the space. And the use of motion capture system will give unpleasant feeling to users because many reflective makers are attached in the body. The purpose of this study is to develop a new estimation system, which can be used in daily life for angle estimation of extension phase during standing-up motion. This paper discusses the estimation system consist of: 1) the estimation of body joint angles and COG during extension phase; 2) the improvement of the proposed system for angle estimation. In 1), an estimation model was proposed that was able to estimate knee and ankle joint angles by combining angle and acceleration of trunk, which came from the inertial sensor attached to the chest of users during the extension phase. The estimate result of joint angle shows higher accuracy than previous research. In 2), in order to expand the use of proposed system and improve the estimation accuracy of proposed system, we estimated the initial angle of knee and ankle by combining foot pressure which measured by a force sensor plate before standing-up motion. The estimation model of initial lower limb angle shows high accuracy. It can be used for angle estimation of extension phase even though the initial knee and ankle joint angle were unknown.九州工業大学博士学位論文 学位記番号：生工博甲第317号 学位授与年月日：平成30年3月23日1 Introduction|2 Previous Researches|3 Angle Estimation of Extension Phase|4 Estimation of Initial Lower Limb Angle|5 Conclusion and Future Work九州工業大学平成29年

Assistive mobility devices focusing on smart walkers : classification and review

In an aging society it is extremely important to develop devices, which can support and aid the elderly in their daily life. This demands means and tools that extend independent living and promote improved health. Thus, the goal of this article is to review the state of the art in the robotic technology for mobility assistive devices for people with mobility disabilities. The important role that robotics can play in mobility assistive devices is presented, as well as the identification and survey of mobility assistive devices subsystems with a particular focus on the walkers technology. The advances in the walkers’ field have been enormous and have shown a great potential on helping people with mobility disabilities. Thus it is presented a review of the available literature of walkers and are discussed major advances that have been made and limitations to be overcome

Self-Feeding Interventions for Adults with Tremors

This research analysis was completed in collaboration with Carol Schramek, OTR/L, who works at a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Iowa run by ABCM corporations. A systematic review of literature was conducted to explore the research question: What evidence-based interventions have been shown to be effective for reducing tremors, improving occupational performance, and/or increasing client satisfaction during self-feeding in adults with resting and/or action tremors? After initial review of 73 articles based on title, 33 articles met our inclusion criteria and were included in our critical appraisal of our topic (CAT). We found there to be a lack of research specifically on self-feeding interventions for adults with an upper-extremity tremor. Due to this gap in research, inferences on the effectiveness of the non-functional interventions for occupation-based tasks in our critical appraisal for self-feeding were made. After reviewing the 33 articles, 8 intervention categories prevailed that had positive impacts on occupational performance for clients with tremor including: limb temperature, positioning of the upper extremity, electrical stimulation, vibration, orthoses, muscular therapy, behavioral training, and various eating devices. After meeting with our collaborator to discuss options for disseminating our findings from the CAT analysis, it was determined that a digital booklet containing basic information ( description, methods, cost, photos) on each intervention category would be most useful for Schramek and her occupational therapy (OT) practitioner colleagues to use when learning about and selecting interventions to use. The booklet was created and sent via email in a pdf and Microsoft Word document to reference and print at her convenience. The purpose of providing a Microsoft Word version, was to enable editing of the files for client-centered customization. To measure the efficacy and benefits of the booklet for the OT practitioners, pre and post surveys were created to assess the OT practitioners\u27 current usage, knowledge, and familiarity of self-feeding interventions for adults with tremor before and after reading through our booklet. Results from our surveys and collaborator feedback indicated that the booklet provided useful information for practitioners to utilize and increased their knowledge on options for interventions to address self-feeding in adults with tremor. OT practitioners should consider all supports and barriers the client has for self-feeding when determining if an intervention included in this critical appraisal is appropriate for their clients with tremor. More research is needed to determine if these interventions are appropriate for OT practitioners to implement for clients with tremors

Dynamic assessment for low back-support exoskeletons during manual handling tasks

Exoskeletons can protect users’ lumbar spine and reduce the risk of low back injury during manual lifting tasks. Although many exoskeletons have been developed, their adoptability is limited by their task- and movement-specific effects on reducing burden. Many studies have evaluated the safety and effectiveness of an exoskeleton using the peak/mean values of biomechanical variables, whereas the performance of the exoskeleton at other time points of the movement has not been investigated in detail. A functional analysis, which presents discrete time-series data as continuous functions, makes it possible to highlight the features of the movement waveform and determine the difference in each variable at each time point. This study investigated an assessment method for exoskeletons based on functional ANOVA, which made it possible to quantify the differences in the biomechanical variables throughout the movement when using an exoskeleton. Additionally, we developed a method based on the interpolation technique to estimate the assistive torque of an exoskeleton. Ten men lifted a 10-kg box under symmetric and asymmetric conditions five times each. Lumbar load was significantly reduced during all phases (flexion, lifting, and laying) under both conditions. Additionally, reductions in kinematic variables were observed, indicating the exoskeleton’s impact on motion restrictions. Moreover, the overlap F-ratio curves of the lumbar load and kinematic variables imply that exoskeletons reduce the lumbar load by restricting the kinematic variables. The results suggested that at smaller trunk angles (<25°), an exoskeleton neither significantly reduces the lumbar load nor restricts trunk movement. Our findings will help increasing exoskeleton safety and designing effective products for reducing lumbar injury risks

Optimizing the WPI Assistive Technology Resource Center: Marketing and Documentation

The Assistive Technology Resource Center at WPI was established in 1999 as a regional center for the design and development of devices to aid persons with disabilities. As the ATRC grows, there is need for the Center to market itself to potential clients, project sponsors and to WPI students. This project focused on developing a marketing tool and a document describing all past major design projects completed within the ATRC. Distribution of these documents will enable the ATRC\u27s to better fulfill its mission of combining educational goals and community service