Article

PURPOSE: To design and develop an appropriate, low-cost electric powered
wheelchair (EPW) for the Indian subcontinent. METHOD:
We performed the following
multi-phase design process: (1) Conceptual design; (2) System design, Prototype I
fabrication, focus group testing with Indian stakeholders (n = 29); (3) System
re-design, Prototype II fabrication and user trials with US (n = 5) and Indian (n
= 25) subjects. RESULTS: (1) Preliminary investigations revealed that a
conventional EPW design was infeasible due to the high component cost. Instead,
we constrained our design to incorporate a single drive motor and manual
steering, with the option of upgrading to power steering where economically
feasible. (2) The first prototype was fabricated out of easily available,
low-cost materials. Focus group testing demonstrated feasibility of the design
and revealed differences between stakeholder groups. (3) Prototype II
incorporated feedback from the first focus group and a needs assessment. US
subjects provided valuable design advice prior to the India trials. Indian
subjects travelled further in the SIMPL-EPW than their own manual wheelchair
(MWC). Depending on spinal injury level, Indian subjects found the entire
(tetraplegia) or outdoor portion (paraplegia) of the obstacle course
significantly less challenging in the SIMPL-EPW compared with their own MWC.
CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a useful and successful multi-phase design approach
for developing assistive technology for developing regions.

Langue : ANGLAIS