Design of an assistance robot for patients suffering from Paraplegia

Abstract

The people with disabled lower limbs find it difficult to lead an independent life and the lack of upper body exercise may lead to disuse ailment. Various studies have shown that both children and adults benefit substantially from access to a means of independent mobility. Independent mobility is a dream for every person with some or the other physical disability especially in the case of paraplegics. In the research presented in this paper, an assistance platform was developed to help the paraplegic and elderly people by providing the ability to stand-up and move about. Virtual prototype technology was used to make the design and development of the robot more efficient using Solid-works™. The device developed may be used for rehabilitation of people recovering from extended periods of limb disuse and for paraplegic patients. Although some commercialized training machines and some developed lower-limb rehabilitation robots can perform adequate motion functions during lower limb training programs but the weight, size and cost of these devices limits their possibilities of use. In contrast, the proposed design has the potential to be used among the middle socio-economic class as a product in daily household works of the paraplegic patients.