Wheelchair-Mounted Mechanical Arm for Opening Doors

Innovation: The design is unique because it will be entirely mechanical unlike most wheelchair-mounted arms for manipulation of objects. In addition, our design will help rehabilitate the user through use in everyday life. Introduction: A common side effect for stroke victims is unilateral arm impairment. This often lands victims in wheelchairs, which can take away quite a bit of their freedom. Professor David Reikensmeyer of the Mechanical Engineering Department devotes much of his time and expertise to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation of stroke victims. His main concern is to help his patients regain strength and motion in their arms. He has tasked us with designing a fully mechanical wheelchair mounted arm that patients can control with their minimal arm movement in order to open doors.Laboratories at many universities and other institutions have developed electronic arms which will undoubtedly be more practical than ours, but they do nothing in terms of rehabilitation; in fact these tools can keep impaired victims dependent and slow their rehabilitation. Having the arm be fully mechanical adds a rehabilitative aspect to the assistive technology that helps them regain strength and independence. Advisor: Dr. David J. Reinkensmeyer; Graduate Student Advisor: Daniel K. Zonderva