Convertible Mobility Aid with Reversible Frame and Teletherapy Sensors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rollator walkers lack rehabilitation monitoring and fall detection features, leading to poor posture, instability, and increased fall risk due to their design, which also makes it difficult for users to access physical therapy and track rehabilitation progress effectively.
Innovation Solution
A mobility aid device with a pivoting support surface, omnidirectional wheels, and integrated teletherapy metric collection system, including sensors and cameras, that allows for data collection and analysis to monitor user activity and detect falls, providing real-time feedback and support for improved posture and rehabilitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the rollator walker is designed with a metal frame and wheels that allow pushing motion, then it provides stability while walking, but it causes the rollator to get too far ahead of the user leading to poor posture and falls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional rollator design by making the frame reversible. The frame can be flipped from a standard configuration where the user pushes from behind to a reversed configuration where the user pulls from the front. This inversion allows the rollator to remain closer to the user's body, preventing it from getting too far ahead and causing poor posture or falls, while still providing stability through the wheel and frame structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If the rollator walker is designed with a fixed structure, then it is simple to manufacture, but it is difficult to use on sloped or uneven surfaces and does not adapt to different user needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the frame reversible and adjustable. The frame can be flipped between different configurations to adapt to various terrains and user needs. Additionally, the reversible design allows the same structure to serve multiple purposes - providing stability on flat surfaces while enabling adaptation to slopes and uneven ground through configuration changes, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while enhancing versatility.
3Device complexity
If the rollator walker is designed without rehabilitation monitoring, then it is simpler in design, but it cannot provide data metrics for tracking rehabilitation progress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms through the reversible frame design that provides tactile and positional feedback to the user. When the frame is in the correct configuration for rehabilitation exercises, it provides sensory feedback confirming proper positioning. This feedback system enables users to track their rehabilitation progress without requiring complex electronic monitoring systems, maintaining design simplicity while providing essential data for rehabilitation tracking.
4Device complexity
If the support surface is fixed in position, then the structure is simpler, but it cannot provide both back rest and seat functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the support surface dynamic by allowing it to pivot between different positions. The support surface can rotate to function as a back rest when the user is standing, and then pivot again to function as a seat when the user needs to sit. This dynamic repositioning capability enables a single structure to provide multiple functions without requiring separate components for each function, maintaining structural simplicity while achieving multi-functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobility aid device constructed using internal couplings and capable of functioning as a rollator walker and transfer/transport chair through a convertible seat to backrest design. As a rollator walker, the device features a reverse wrap-around/posterior frame and is capable of detecting falls while providing continual data regarding its use through monitoring components built into the frame and which are visualized on a corresponding mobile application. The data is leveraged for therapeutic purposes through analysis leading to insights about gait patterns, energy levels, and device reliance and access to the data by physical therapists who can engage with the mobile application to assign exercises, monitor patient metrics, and engage with patients remotely.