This project was developed to help a friend rehabitiate from a autoimmune condition Guillain-Barré syndrome (https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/guillain-barre-syndrome)
The project is created within an open source ideology, whereby, all the information to produce this device, is shared for anyone to use, create and modify.
Through research, it was found that the development of such product would usual fall outside the effective time the product would be requires. In other words, by the time the necessary research, development, concepts, prototype and creation occurs the patient, in this case, had already been rehabilitated.
This lends to question whether or not products should be developed in the first place. Well, to answer that question, we need to ask WHO ELSE could benifit from the idea.
The following are images of prototyping - with foam etc - to understand what form the assistive joystick would need to be.
The strength of the patient was very limited, as was dexterity. This led to design the devices to
- utilised the limited strength of the patient.
- to conrespond to the reaction time and dexerity of the patient.
- ergonomics of hand in a laying positon
- use of open hardware to assist with the acessibility of other coping the device.
