This week, we met with Dr. Courtney Dunn, our client, to discuss specifics of two problems she is interested in solving. We had previously discussed the problem of uneven muscle tone and torticollis in infants and potential solutions involving tracking arm movement or head tilt in infants and reinforcing movement of the weaker side through biofeedback. We decided against working with arm weakness due to the success of a previous senior design group with treating the uneven arm tone problem. During our conversation, we discussed existing solutions, which mostly consist of physical therapy, and varying causes of the head tilt.
We also discussed wheelchair headrests that either do not support upright head position or restrain the head uncomfortably or obtrusively. Head drop and head tilt are problems for many people who have cerebral palsy, especially those who use a wheelchair. We decided to pursue a solution to this problem rather than infant torticollis because we think it addresses a need that is not currently being met. Torticollis and head tilt can be effectively treated by physical therapy and surgery already, although the treatment is imperfect and doesn’t work as well for patients with visual impairments. However, wheelchair headrests currently on the market either fail to provide adequate support or are excessively intrusive such that customers are unwilling to use them. We have written a need statement, a project scope, and a list of initial specifications for the head drop problem, and will be revising these to turn in on Monday. Next week, we plan to begin research specific to the problem of muscle tone in people with cerebral palsy. This will include a review of literature pertaining to the problem itself, as well as a preliminary search of existing treatments. After this initial search, we will begin to elaborate upon our current list of specifications to better understand the criteria our solution must meet. We also plan to start on the website if time allows. Comments are closed.
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Thom Ellison, Emma Huff, Katelyn Miyasaki Archives
April 2019
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