Engineering the Future of Accessibility through Assistive Devices
Author: Ebic Tristary
Table of Contents
BACKGROUND
Currently there are many assistive devices being developed by Research Engineers. Prof. Motjaba Ahmadi is one of the leading researchers in assistive devices using robotics technology. One of the devices that currently being developed by Dr. Ahmadi and his research team is currently called Balance-Aid. This forward-thinking project can initiate and invigorate the young generation of researchers to develop more innovations in accessibility, which will help in creating a more accessible world in the future.
One of the highest costs for elderly hospitalization is caused by fall injuries. But not much research has been done to develop fall prevention assistive devices for seniors. That is why Prof. Ahmadi and his research team, which consists of Carleton University students, are developing an assistive device called Balance-Aid, which in the future will be able to help detect and prevent elderly from falling while doing their everyday activities.
RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
Recent graduate students from Carleton University have a success story based on the student research that turned into a viable product that is currently on the market. These graduates have been developing an innovative rehabilitation technology in the form of an assistive robotic gait system. It is essentially a robot that can help someone who is recovering from hip-replacement surgery—and a wide range of other medical procedures and conditions—to be able to stand and walk. This robotic technology, which is named ‘SoloWalk’ (the flagship creation from GaitTronics), can improve patient care, minimize staff workload, and reduce care costs.
After this success story, Prof. Ahmadi, with his research team of Carleton University’s graduate students, moved on to a new project. This time, rather than to rehabilitate, they are developing a device that can actually prevent the injuries that are caused from falling. This device will be able to alert the user about their balance, so that they can correct their body posture and prevent them from falling.
To be able to detect and measure the body posture, it will require placing a sensor in a location that can detect, quantify, and measure body posture, in this case, under the user’s feet. By placing foot sensors in the shoes’ insoles, it will be able to measure the forces and pressure distribution of the wearer’s body, and can alert the user if they are in an unstable position.
The method of alerting the user is by sending a signal to a ‘buzzer’ which would be placed (possibly as a belt) around their abdomen area, and it will tell the wearer to correct their posture or to balance their position when walking.
In the future, this device can also be used as a training tool by learning what are the back postures that would lead to falls, or risky postures, and by alerting the user, it can then gradually in time help the user to correct their postures and prevent or avoid fall injuries.
CURRENT LIMITATIONS and POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
At present, the technology for biomechanical foot sensors that are to be placed on shoe’s insole is not really applicable. This is because the sensors to capture the data of the force and pressure distribution of the wearer’s body weight are made from solid and rigid materials. For the user to be able to use it as a walking aid, they will have to develop a sensor that is soft and flexible, so that it can be inserted in the shoes’ insoles, and without adding any difficulties for the user to walk.
To overcome this limitation, they are collaborating with the photonics lab to borrow their fibre-optics technology which hopefully can create a flexible foot sensor that can be placed onto the shoes’ insoles. By using fibre-optics technology to develop the foot sensor, hopefully they can develope a Balance-Aid device that is applicable for everyday use.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FUTURE
- Prof. Ahmadi suggested that there should be more multidisciplinary collaboration in this field of research, so we can develop and solutions better and faster with less iterations.
- Education system can be improved by updating the curriculum with more recent and future projects. And also by involving students more with real and actual projects.
- Funding sometimes can be a challenge, it is certainly something that can be improved.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Prof. Ahmadi envisions a world that is accessible for everyone. He mentioned that the key is in Internet of Things (IoT), where information is widely accessible to everyone. By sharing information, we can create and develop an intelligent and adaptive environment, where the environment will adjust itself to accommodate people’s needs. So rather than creating a specific product for a specific need, we should create an environment where it can sustain and adapt to the whole society.
References
Al-Mai, O., Ahmadi, M., & Albert, J. (2017). A Compliant 3-Axis Fiber-Optic Force Sensor for Biomechanical Measurement. IEEE Sensors Journal, 17(20), 6549-6557. doi:10.1109/jsen.2017.2750157
Courtemanche, C. (2017). Vibrotactile Feedback for Human Balance Improvement: Experimental Investigation of Optimal Feedback Location. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Bateni, H., & Maki, B. E. (2005). Assistive devices for balance and mobility: Benefits, demands, and adverse consequences. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 86(1), 134-145. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2004.04.023
National Center for Health Statistics. (2013, October 17). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db130.htm
ACCESSIBILITY AND INCLUSIVE DESIGN CASE STUDIES 