Pressure sores are painful and debilitating tissue wounds which commonly affect wheelchair users. Current treatment of pressure sores requires bed-rest for up to sixteen weeks, which is unacceptable for patients with active life-styles. The purpose of our project is to design a wheelchair that allows patients with pressure sores to remain active without hindering the healing process. The wheelchair should facilitate activities of daily living (ADL) and distribute pressure evenly to prevent new sore development. The wheelchair design should also be comfortable, adjustable, maneuverable, and competitively priced. It must also conform to industry safety and manufacturing standards.After conducting extensive research and problem assessment, we developed, critiqued, and enhanced three different design concepts. We chose to further develop the ergonomic wheelchair design and constructed a full-scale mockup. We also spent extensive time refining the design features.
[...] Keep the wound moist to promote granulation. Protect the surrounding skin. Manage the patient's overall condition. Track wound-healing progress accurately. (Courtesy of www.amda.com) 4 Problem Statement The purpose of our project is to design a wheelchair that allows patients with pressure sores to remain mobile and active without hindering the healing process Design Constraints The following statements describe the essential project constraints for our development of a pressure-reducing wheelchair. Pressure Relief - Our design must provide complete pressure relief for the ischial region of the body. [...]
[...] Our research was used to develop a comprehensive list of design constraints and goals and to assess our design concepts. This assessment led us to pursue the ergonomic wheelchair design. Once this design was selected, we used a full-scale mockup to gauge its performance and identify unresolved issues. We further refined our design by identifying and developing design concepts for features like angular adjustment, hamstring pad movement, and brakes. Ultimately, the team concluded the twenty-week development cycle by presenting these concepts to our client, Dr. [...]
[...] Design was further hampered because we were unable to procure testing equipment for the mockup. The result of these delays was that our team was unable to complete a functional prototype, as we had originally intended. We are confident, however, that we have developed a wheelchair design that meets all our design constraints. In addition, the team has identified key design concerns and has suggested solution methods Future Plans and Considerations The final goal for the project is to develop a wheelchair that Dr. [...]
[...] Appendix Economical Analysis Cost Estimate of the Ergonomic Wheelchair Materials Dealer Sug Price Retail Economic Analysis Customers: Individual Savings per Stage Four Pressure Sore Wheelchair: Sore: Average Missed Work Salary wks: Simple Payback for a Customer days Note: The S.P. figure is based on work missed. It does not include hospital costs, doctor visits or other expenses. Appendix Lessons Learned During the twenty-week development cycle of our novel pressure-relieving wheelchair our team encountered few group organizational problems. As a team we are functioned effectively; each team member filled a role that he was comfortable with and all members are contributed. [...]
[...] Figure 11.3 : Ergonomic Wheelchair Schematic. One advantage of this design is that the angular adjustment makes it possible for a patient to transfer from a bed directly onto the wheelchair. During normal operation, the patient will be less susceptible to neck strain than with the prone cart because of the inclined position. Additionally, the angle provides a better field of view. See Appendix A-6 for calculations on the ergonomic wheelchair Design Selection A comparisons chart, found below in table was developed to aid in the process of selecting a specific design. [...]
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