Manny Fanarjian BME 260: Design for People with Disabilities February 8, 20 0 Wheelchair Rock N Roll Introduction/Background !
ill is a se"enteen year#ol$ girl with %ha&en Baby %yn$ro'e (%B%)* %B% is usually initiate$ within the first two years of a +hil$,s life, an$ is +ause$ by "iolent, rigorous sha&ing - .* /n infant has a softer s&ull, less hea$ +ontrol, an$ wea&er ne+& 'us+les than an a$ult, so brain $a'age +an result fro' e"en see'ingly har'less sha&ing* %y'pto's of %B% range fro' partial paralysis an$ bone fra+tures0typi+ally of the fe'ur an$ spine0to +ogniti"e i'pair'ents, su+h as sei1ures an$ the inability to +o''uni+ate -2.* !ill has a nu'ber of the 'ost +o''on sy'pto's, in+lu$ing se"ere +ogniti"e an$ physi+al $isabilities* %he un$erstan$s the +on+ept of +ause an$ effe+t2 for e3a'ple, she will a+ti"ate a swit+h if that 'eans it will play her fa"orite song or that she +an go for a wal& on her wheel+hair* /s for her physi+al $isabilities, she has "ery li'ite$ 'obility in her right ar' an$ hea$ (only enough to press a button), an$ no apparent 'o"e'ent in her other li'bs* !ill,s response to "isual +ues is 'ini'al2 it is suspe+te$ that she has i'paire$ "ision, as well0 allowing her only to $istinguish between light an$ $ar&* 4astly, though !ill +an hu' along with a few of her fa"orite songs, she is otherwise +o'pletely non"erbal* Be+ause of her physi+al $isabilities, !ill spen$s 'ost of her $ay in a wheel+hair* 5nfortunately, she $oes not ha"e the $e3terity in her ar's to in$epen$ently 'o"e her wheel+hair* %he 'ay ha"e the ability to a+ti"ate a joysti+& with the little ar' +ontrol that she $oes ha"e, but her +ogniti"e $isabilities an$ suspe+te$ "ision li'itations pre+lu$e the option of a 'otori1e$ wheel+hair* 6urrently, !ill,s tea+hers ta&e her for a wal& in her wheel+hair whene"er possible* But, with a nu'ber of other spe+ial nee$s stu$ents in the +lassroo', the tea+hers, free ti'e is "ery li'ite$* /part fro' e"en the ti'e +onstraints, it,s "ery physi+ally $e'an$ing on !ill,s tea+hers to +onstantly push or ro+& her wheel+hair* Be+ause these wal&s are the one thing that +onsistently 'a&e !ill happy, there is a nee$ to $e"elop a $e"i+e that will allow her to e3perien+e 'otion on her wheel+hair with as little ai$ re7uire$ fro' the tea+hers as possible* / few wheel+hair ro+&ing $e"i+es ha"e been patente$ -8, 9., but 'ost are either prohibiti"ely e3pensi"e or i'pra+ti+al gi"en !ill,s poor $e3terity* Many of the $e"i+es re7uire users to push the'sel"es along a set of tra+&s, or to lift the'sel"es onto a separate seat* :either of those $esigns is appli+able for !ill, so we,"e +o'e up with a $esign for a new $e"i+e* Project Goals ;he goal of this proje+t is to $esign an$ +onstru+t a $e"i+e that will allow !ill to e3perien+e ba+&#an$#forth 'otion on her wheel+hair, as well as to in+orporate other
sensory sti'uli, su+h as an 'p8 player with her fa"orite songs* <e $e+i$e$ after se"eral 'otion tests that that &in$ of os+illatory 'o"e'ent is what !ill fin$s 'ost enjoyable* =n all of our tests, she respon$e$ with a s'ile* ;here are a nu'ber of +onstraints on the $esign of the $e"i+e* /part fro' finan+ial li'itations, it 'ust support at least 200 poun$s0the aggregate weight of !ill an$ her wheel+hair* /lso, the $e"i+e 'ust be easily store$ in a +row$e$ +lassroo', intro$u+ing si1e restri+tions to our $esign* 4astly, to ensure that the $e"i+e is safe an$ effe+ti"e, it 'ust a$here to all rele"ant engineering stan$ar$s, an$ in+lu$e a way to se+urely fasten the wheel+hair*
Methods: /s 'entione$ in the intro$u+tion, our $esign in"ol"es buil$ing a platfor' for !ill,s wheel+hair that will allow her to 'o"e ba+&#an$#forth with 'ini'al assistan+e fro' her tea+hers* ;he $e"i+e itself +an be split into three se+tions: the platfor', the 'otor, an$ the +oupling between the'* Platform: ;he platfor' is 'a$e of >? Bir+h har$woo$ plywoo$, an$ is 9, long an$ 8, wi$e* Mounte$ to the botto' of the platfor' are @ large +asters, use$ to support the weight of the wheel+hair an$ pro'ote a flui$ rolling 'otion* /ll of the +asters were fastene$ with A?#20 bolts an$ nylon lo+& nuts* (%ee the figure to the right*) Motor: ;he 'otor is a 2B#6*C/ D6 'otor that was $esigne$ for an ele+tri+ally#powere$ golf +art* =t has o"er C00 in#lbs* of tor7ue, whi+h is 'ore than enough for this appli+ation* ;he 'otor is powere$ by a D6 power supply, +onsisting of a step#$own transfor'er to re$u+e the 20B +o'ing in fro' the outlet an$ a bri$ge re+tifier to +on"ert fro' /6 to D6 "oltage*
Motor-Platform Coupling: ;he last 'ajor $esign ele'ent is the +oupling between the 'otor an$ the platfor'* =n or$er to transfor' the rotational 'otion of the 'otor wheel into a translational 'otion of the platfor', we nee$e$ to in+orporate so'e &in$ of +a' shaft, 'u+h li&e those use$ in +ar engines or win$shiel$ wiper 'otors* / 8#foot se+tion of threa$e$ 'etal ro$ (>,#29) lay between the 'otor an$ the platfor', an$ is +onne+te$ at either en$ by a ball#joint bearing, allowing the ro$ to rotate about the 'ain a3es of the bolts that se+ure it to the platfor' an$ the 'otor wheel* /s the 'otor spins, the ro$ is pulle$ aroun$ in a +ir+ular fashion, but the ball# joint bearings allow the platfor' to os+illate ba+&#an$#forth as it ta&es a$"antage of the hori1ontal +o'ponent of the for+e fro' the ro$* For an e3a'ple of what this woul$ loo& li&e, see the i'ages below*
Mp3 player: ;he last part of the $esign is an a$apte$ 'p8 player* <e $e+i$e$ to in+lu$e an 'p8 player be+ause of the +onsistent positi"e response obser"e$ in our +lient fro' playing 'usi+ $uring our 'otion tests* ;he pri'ary i'petus for its in+lusion was re+reation, but our +lient,s therapists ha"e in$i+ate$ that it 'ay be helpful for her while she +ontinues to $e"elop the +on+ept of +ause an$ effe+t (be+ause 'usi+ is so'ething in whi+h she,s "ery intereste$)* =t,s been 'o$ifie$ to wor& with big swit+hes, li&e those that our +lient uses with her spee+h therapist* ;he $e"i+e has two inputs for the big swit+hes, so when the swit+h is presse$, it 'i'i+s the effe+t of pressing the button on the 'p8 player itself* ;he two fun+tions that this parti+ular $e"i+e in+orporates are playDpause an$ s&ipDfast#forwar$* ;hese fun+tions are espe+ially helpful with our +lient, as her 'usi+al preferen+es see' to +hange e"ery $ay* ;he player has EB of 'e'ory, 'ore than enough to hol$ an a$e7uate nu'ber of songs for our +lient* %ee the i'age below for an illustration of the a$apte$ 'p8 player*
References - . F%ha&en Baby %yn$ro'e? http:DDwww*nl'*nih*go"D'e$lineplusDen+yDarti+leD000009*ht'* 5% :ational 4ibrary of Me$i+ineD:ational =nstitutes of Gealth* February 20 0* -2. Mra1 M/ (200@)* H;he physi+al 'anifestations of sha&en baby syn$ro'eH* Journal of Forensic Nursing 5 ( ): 26I80* -8. 5% Patent J9,K68,9@K* FLo+&ing Platfor' for <heel+hairs?* <inge, Donal$ !* 0 6herry %treet, J 0, Eran$ For&s, :* Da&ota C820 * May @8K* http:DDwww*freepatentsonline*+o'D9K689@K*p$f -9. Easy Platfor' <heel+hair Lo+&er* http:DDwww*flaghouse*+o'DEasy#Platfor'# <heel+hair#Lo+&er#ite'#8C@02Msr++o$eN K292
