Wheelchair Locomotion: Hybrid Lever and Push-Rim Powered Mobility Aid
Clinician: C. Keith Ozaki, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School; Director, Vascular Surgery Research and Director of Resident Research, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
MIT Student Team: Eric Gilbertson, Ben Pope, Steffen Reichert and Jon Ward
Many users of traditional wheelchairs develop overuse injuries of the shoulder joint due to repetitive identical loading. This team proposes a wheelchair design that will solve the ergonomic challenges presented, while maintaining the maneuverability of traditional push-rim wheelchairs. By activating the largest muscle groups in the upper body (i.e. pectorals and laterals) strain on the shoulder joint is reduced. The proposed design is a morphing hybrid chair; the user can travel forward over long distances with a push/pull lever-drive system, and switch to a push-rim design when indoors or needing more fine maneuverability. The most critical modules of the design were prototyped and tested. A full design was also explored and a feature set and 3D CAD geometry are proposed.CIMITblog is a publication of the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT)
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