Human centered approach to design an assisti ve device for pati ent with walking abnormaliti es

Abstract

Over 5 million elderly people lose their life every year due to injuries . Balance problems & Use of walking aids are regarded as major risk factors associated with falls among the elderly population in India . It is estimated that over 41 thousand elderly people sustain injuries involving walkers each year. A patient falls when their center of mass (COM) moves outside his/ her base of support (BOS). While a patient is using a walker, their BOS is the footprint of the walker defined by the four legs. Unfortunately deformity in use of walker is a major problem among the people who are using walkers by putting their feet outside the BOS. This is a very unstable position that may cause a fall. The majority of these injuries happened at home, and 21% to 35% occurred while the person was walking almost 5% of injuries occurred when falling backwards, - it mostly leads to brain injury. The most severe falls are lateral falls, which can lead to hip fractures that may cause death. Therefore, there is a need to improve the current walkers to reduce lateral falls (Bateni, Hamid & Maki, Brian. 2005). After doing the relevant literature study related to topic it was observed that the process of research through design was the most useful method to proceed ahead for arriving at design insight . Prototypes were made with the concept to increase stability of walker and reduce distance of center of mass of walker with reference to center of mass of person, which in turn helps to maintain good posture while walking . Three users (walking frame users) were tested with the prototype . After comparing the prototype with the traditional walker it was observed the new design can provide more conference to users in terms of weight transfer , turning or rotation while walking . Observations were made further from the slow video recordings . Final design was made incorporating ease of wearing and removing hand support , ease of holding prior to standing - creating stability & Provide hassle free movement .