Development of a sit-to-stand assistance chair for elderly people

Abstract

According to the survey on the actual situation of elderly persons at home or nursing home care, the first item after concerning about disease under treatment is 'weak legs and difficulties to stand from the chair'. Muscle strength further decreases with aging and make feeling burden when standing from chair. Also, people who are suffering from secondary symptoms such as bedsores and keep sitting in a chair for a long time are on the rise. The most burdensome for elderly persons when trying to stand up from the chair is to bear the weight themselves. In this paper, we introduce 'Rakutateru' which is especially designed to support elderly persons to easily stand up from the chair and keep people to more active and independent. We also evaluate the validity of an assist unit which is contained inside the lower part of the Rakutateru surface.