Uyên's chair

TOM MAKEATHON VIETNAM 2016 The first TOM Makeathon in Vietnam connected children living with disabilities with multi-disciplinary teams of Makers, designer and developers to develop technological solutions for their everyday challenges.

TEAM 07 Uyen’s Chair

SPECIALIZED WHEELCHAIR FOR CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY Final Report

Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3

I.

1.1 Cerebral palsy...................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 Need of specialized wheelchair .......................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Meet our need-knower ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Current solutions................................................................................................................................. 4 II.

Requirements................................................................................................................................... 4

2.1 Customer requirements ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Medical requirements......................................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Manufacturers requirements ............................................................................................................. 5 2.4 Ergonomic requirements .................................................................................................................... 5 III.

Solution ............................................................................................................................................ 6

3.1 Design Concept ................................................................................................................................... 6 3.2 Material selection and costs ............................................................................................................... 8 3.3 Making process ................................................................................................................................... 9 IV.

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 22

Table of Figures Figure 1: Uyen has cerebral palsy ................................................................................................................. 4 Figure 2: Design of the wheelchair ............................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3: Rear view of the wheelchair .......................................................................................................... 7 Figure 4: Side view of the wheelchair ........................................................................................................... 7 Figure 5: Upside view of the wheelchair....................................................................................................... 8 Figure 6: Brainstorming................................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 7: Present our first prototype .......................................................................................................... 10 Figure 8: Design the product using CAD/CAM packages ............................................................................ 11 Figure 9: Wood cutting using CNC .............................................................................................................. 12 Figure 10: Drilling and machining ............................................................................................................... 13 Figure 11: Evaluate the parts by measuring ............................................................................................... 14 Figure 12: Flat design .................................................................................................................................. 15 Figure 13: Cushion ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 14: Prepare all the parts................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 15: Assembly .................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 16: Decorate the product................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 17: Prepare for presentation ........................................................................................................... 20 Figure 18: Final Product .............................................................................................................................. 21 Figure 19: Uyen with our product ............................................................................................................... 22

I.

Introduction

This project is developed as a part of TOM event. The first ever Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM) event in Asia will connect children who are living with disabilities (CWD) and are affected significantly by their daily challenges with multi-disciplinary teams formed specifically to design and prototype solutions during a 72-hour event.

1.1 Cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy is a disorder which is a result of brain injury. It can affect body movement,muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. People whohave cerebral palsy may also have visual, learning, hearing, speech, epilepsy and intellectualimpairments.

1.2 Need of specialized wheelchair There is no cure for this kind of disorder at the moment, however it is not unchangeable.One of the most important treatments is positioning the patient’s body in stable and regularposture. The condition of the patient can be improved by using a wheelchair which has aspecial seat with accessories for stabilization of the patient’s body.

1.3 Meet our need-knower This is the hardest case brought to TOM:Vietnam. Phuong Uyen is beautiful little 4-year old girl.

But unfortunately, she was born with physical disabilities and severe cerebral palsy. Her limbs are very weak and she’s unable to move. She can’t control her head and neck which caused spinal deformity. She can’t sit, self-feed, or walk. She has to completely depend on her mom and grandmother.

Figure 1: Uyen has cerebral palsy

At the age of 4, she is supposed to be exploring the world around her, testing limits. But she only knows “the world” in the 4 walls of her house. Her mother sadly shared, “Uyen really wants to go out. If I [mother] don’t carry her out, she will shout and cry. But after carrying her for a long time, she gets hurt because it causes bad blood circulation situation and bruises on her limbs. I’m also too busy doing house chores to take her out frequently.”

Uyen’s family wishes there was a chair that would be suitable to support her spine, adjust its size (height, width) for her growth, be flexible for different usage, and be made from a material that would provide good air circulation for extended sitting.

1.4 Current solutions At the moment, there are some solutions on the market. The main problem with the wheelchairfor children with cerebral palsy is that they are not flexible enough and they are too expensive.

As a result, our team decide to come up with a different design which is not only flexible formany different demands, but also is affordable for most people, especially those who comefrom developing countries.

II.

Requirements

This part provides the requirements for this product, including customer requirements,medical requirements, manufacturer requirements, and ergonomic requirements.

2.1 Customer requirements -

Customers (including the patients) need a product who is suitable for their demands.

Easy to use or change positions.

Comfortable enough.

Low weight.

Low price.

Suitable for performing as much as possible activities.

Easy to dissemble, possibility to change parts because of damaging.

Long period of exploitation.

2.2 Medical requirements Some medical requirements must be clarified in order to avoid injury.

-

Firm posture of the spine.

The angle between the body and lower limbs must be 90°.

Head and side support to obtaining proper position.

Spine, arms, leg, feet support.

Soft seat in order to avoid wounds.

Dimensions of the seat must be appropriate for the child’s dimensions.

Possibility to add medical treatment accessories.

2.3 Manufacturers requirements Manufacturers need to identify requirements in order to ensure the result of their production.

-

Low production price.

Low market price.

Modular parts for better and easier reparation.

Modular accessories for extra activities which could be sold separately.

2.4 Ergonomic requirements We established ergonomic requirements for the wheelchair and the seat.

-

The angle between seat and backrest must be 90 °.

The seat must have a possibility to change the angle of the backrest in order to provide rest position. (90° - 180°) The seat must have armrests for placing the arms in rest position.

The seat must have additional supports from both sides of the chests for providingvertical position of the spine.

The seat must have foot support for stabilization of the body.

The seat must have headrest with special shape as a support for obtaining proper positionof the head.

III.

The seat must be soft in order to avoid wounds.

Dimensions of the seat must be appropriate for the child’s dimensions.

Solution

3.1 Design Concept The following pictures present the detail concept of this specialized wheelchair.

Figure 2: Design of the wheelchair

The main concept applies the principles of modularity. It has two main parts: the drivingsystem and the seat. Due to the demands from the customer, this wheelchair uses smallwheels for easy driving in narrow spaces (mostly home), so it is suitable for indoor use. Therear part has many small holes in order to adjust the seat height and backrest height. Theangle between the seat and backrest can help for positioning at 90°, plus it can alsotransform for lying (180°). There is also storage for attach table or other additional elements inthe future. Moreover, the head pod can be adjusted to fix the head position of the child on differentheights. In addition, the side part is decorated with some pictures and colors to make it more attractive to the children.

Figure 3: Rear view of the wheelchair

Figure 4: Side view of the wheelchair

Figure 5: Upside view of the wheelchair

3.2 Material selection and costs In order to reduce the production cost and the weight, our team decides to make use of plywood in many of the components of this wheelchair. Besides, some aluminum bars are usedto ensure the solidity of the structure. The head pod part need to be flexible, therefore it isproduced using 3D printer. In detail, we make use of: -

Plywood.

Aluminum plates.

Bush.

Cushion.

Belt.

Nuts.

Steel washers.

Castor.

Since plywood is utilized for many parts in our products, the cost for it is the most significant (around 30$). The second costly part is cushion because we have to order it from a third-party company (20$). For processing tasks, 3D printing and CNC cutting cost the most, both cost us about 40$ in total. The rest is for other materials and processing tasks.

3.3 Making process We first met each other at the Pre-event of TOM Makeathon. In the Pre-event, we met Uyen and her family, discussed with them about her condition. Then we tried to define the problem, did brainstorming and made the first prototype for our product.

Figure 6: Brainstorming

Figure 7: Present our first prototype

After the Pre-event, we made some meeting to redefine the problem, contacted with professionals, analyze it and develop our solution. We also measured Uyen’s body size to make sure our product can fit her perfectly. As a result, we managed to get a list of requirements, then we started to make our design using CAD/CAM packages.

Figure 8: Design the product using CAD/CAM packages

The making process requires many steps. Because plywood is one of our main material for this product, we spent time for tasks which are related to wood processing such as CNC cutting, machining, measuring and evaluating our wood parts. Besides, we also applied flat design for most components of our product.

Figure 9: Wood cutting using CNC

Figure 10: Drilling and machining

Figure 11: Evaluate the parts by measuring

Figure 12: Flat design

We also ordered cushion to make the seat part of our product.

Figure 13: Cushion

Then prepare all the parts and start to assembly

Figure 14: Prepare all the parts

Figure 15: Assembly

We also make some decoration on the side of the chair to make it attractive to children.

Figure 16: Decorate the product

Finally, we finished our product and prepared for the presentation.

Figure 17: Prepare for presentation

Figure 18: Final Product

Figure 19: Uyen with our product

IV. Conclusion Within three days, we tried our best to satisfy the needs of children with cerebral palsy. It was a really hard job. But the thought of making change in the life of these children is drivingforce hard enough to keep us moving. Besides, all of us have a chance to work, learn andshare with each other. We would like to thank TOM and all the partners for organizing thisevent. This event is an unforgettable experience for us and hopefully we can continue to develop this product, as well as many kind of useful products. We also wish Uyen will recover soon and hopefully we can help her or children like her in the future.