Removable platform for gait trainer

Overview

My Role: Leading project, conducting the initial interviews and prototyping, manufacturing of the final device
Tools/Skills: User Interviews, User Testing, CAD (Fusion 360), Material Selection
Timeline: March 2019 (1 weekend as part ATHack 2019)
Team: 3 (MechE, AerospaceE, Chemistry)

Context

We worked with the family of Julian, who used a gait trainer as an assistive mobility device. Conversations with them revealed that while Julian could use the gait trainer to independently stand at times, his caregiver faced the challenge of having to constantly lift him up and down during transportation. Having a way to allow him to stand or be seated in his gait trainer would increase the ease of transportation (the trainer could be rolled with him in it). At the same time, a solution would need to allow him to stand within the gait trainer when desired.

Goal

Design a base to support Julian’s feet and allow him to be in a more seated position

Outcomes

1) Developed a removable platform, designed to attach to Julian’s existing outdoor gait trainer with no permanent modifications to the frame.

2) Tested the platform with Julian, though testing was limited so we could not assure the durability of the prototype (permission to include this video here was received from Julian’s family)

3) Gave the final prototype to Julian and his family

Design Process

The challenge of this project was attaching to the existing frame, which was an unusual shape. In addition, we did not have constant access to the frame during prototyping. For this reason, the frame was rebuilt in CAD and the design was developed using the 3D model.

In addition, in order to make sure the design was accessible, we tried to use off-the-shelf parts and minimize the use of any special tools. A detailed description of the process can be found in this Instructable.

Reflection

This quick hackathon was a challenge because of the short amount of time we had to build our final solution, despite having some time ahead of time to work with Julian’s family to determine exactly what they needed and the challenges they were facing. Although we were able to come up with a relatively good solution, we could have made something of higher quality that would last longer given some more time. I think that this is a challenge of working with assistive technology since you want to deliver something that is useful to the people who you are working with, who are giving their valuable time and energy as well. However, it is not always possible to provide continued support or assistance with maintenance, which may lead to the hacked solution being discarded. Hopefully, Julian was able to use the platform at least for some amount of time!