POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY

Edward R. Ratner; A. Soleil Bornstein; Gary Goldish; Allison M. Gustavson; Andrew Hansen; Steve Morin; Jared Bliss; Amber Wacek

doi:10.1115/dmd2022-1023

POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY

Edward R. Ratner, A. Soleil Bornstein, Gary Goldish, Allison M. Gustavson, Andrew Hansen, Steve Morin, Jared Bliss, Amber Wacek

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

Nearly half of older people cannot easily walk 400 meters. Powered mobility aids such as seated scooters discourage healthful walking and have limitations due to size and cost. Using human-centered design, we have developed a novel power assisted walker (PAW), which can be used as a manual walker or as a standing electric scooter. A user can push the device manually supported by a four-wheeled walker or step onto a footplate and ride it as a three wheeled standing scooter, with safety enhanced by two anti-tip casters. A working prototype has demonstrated the feasibility of this design. It also meets user-defined requirements for safety, usability, and transportability. Designs for additional prototypes overcome several engineering challenges and will enable a wide variety of users to meet their mobility needs in the community.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022
Publisher	American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ISBN (Electronic)	9780791885710
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1115/dmd2022-1023
State	Published - 2022
Event	2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022 - Minneapolis, Virtual, United States Duration: Apr 11 2022 → Apr 14 2022

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022

Conference

Conference	2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022
Country/Territory	United States
City	Minneapolis, Virtual
Period	4/11/22 → 4/14/22

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Transfer Program and the VHA Innovators Network. The views, opinions, and interpretations expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by ASME

Keywords

Mobility
scooter
walker

Publisher link

10.1115/dmd2022-1023

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Cite this

Ratner, E. R., Bornstein, A. S., Goldish, G., Gustavson, A. M., Hansen, A., Morin, S., Bliss, J., & Wacek, A. (2022). POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY. In Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022 Article V001T09A002 (Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022). American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/dmd2022-1023

POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY. / Ratner, Edward R.; Bornstein, A. Soleil; Goldish, Gary et al.
Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2022. V001T09A002 (Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Ratner, ER, Bornstein, AS, Goldish, G, Gustavson, AM, Hansen, A, Morin, S, Bliss, J & Wacek, A 2022, POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY. in Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022., V001T09A002, Proceedings of the 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2022 Design of Medical Devices Conference, DMD 2022, Minneapolis, Virtual, United States, 4/11/22. https://doi.org/10.1115/dmd2022-1023

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abstract = "Nearly half of older people cannot easily walk 400 meters. Powered mobility aids such as seated scooters discourage healthful walking and have limitations due to size and cost. Using human-centered design, we have developed a novel power assisted walker (PAW), which can be used as a manual walker or as a standing electric scooter. A user can push the device manually supported by a four-wheeled walker or step onto a footplate and ride it as a three wheeled standing scooter, with safety enhanced by two anti-tip casters. A working prototype has demonstrated the feasibility of this design. It also meets user-defined requirements for safety, usability, and transportability. Designs for additional prototypes overcome several engineering challenges and will enable a wide variety of users to meet their mobility needs in the community.",

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POWER ASSISTED WALKER: RISING ABOVE SEATED MOBILITY

Abstract

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