LiftOff

What it does

Focusing on sit-to-stand exercises during physiotherapy, LiftOff is an assistive chair that helps patients train the proper sit-to-stand motion. Starting from a seated position, a piston pushes the seat up, supporting the patient's hamstrings and glutes.

Your inspiration

Statistically, healthcare workers experience the highest work-related musculoskeletal diseases. This is attributed to enhanced muscle fatigue resulting from the repetitive strain incurred during work. After thorough research and validation with healthcare practitioners, we determined that providing moderate to maximum assistance to patients causes increased strain on our practitioners. Hence, we decided to tackle the issue with sit-to-stand as the main exercise of focus.

How it works

The solution involves two parts: a piston-activated seat and a weighing scale. As the patient attempts to stand, more force will be driven into their feet. This will indicate the start of the sit-to-stand motion. During momentum transfer, as the patient lifts their buttocks off the seat, the piston will provide dynamically variable assistance to their hamstrings. This gives them an extra drive to assist in the liftoff motion.

Design process

The design process began by identifying challenges faced by physiotherapists. Through interviews with a professor and clinical students, we found that repetitive sit-to-stand exercises using a gait belt lead to musculoskeletal issues in patients. To address this, we designed an assistive system to help patients learn to stand. Initially, we conceptualised a piston to lift the chair seat as the patient leans forward, using load cells to measure pressure differences. However, we replaced the piston with a linear actuator for more effective testing and added a roller to prevent damage to the leather seat during the lifting process. Our design focuses on the first two phases of the sit-to-stand (STS) process, tilting the seat at three angles based on the patient's condition. We used T-slot aluminium profiles for support and a wooden plank for the seat, which is secured by hinges. Four load cells were attached to a wooden plank, which was then connected to an amplifier, enabling pressure measurement. All components, including the actuator and load cells, are powered via an Arduino board programmed in C++.

How it is different

Focused on rehabilitation, the solution does not have an arm beam for patients, unlike traditional assistive devices. This design choice eliminates reliance on the upper body, facilitating efficient rehabilitation for the lower body.

Future plans

Incorporating a Spring-Loaded Mechanism between the seat and piston to ensure the seat follows the patient's natural standing motion. It will provide smoother and more gradual assistance during thigh-off. Making it into a modular design by redesigning components to be detachable and reconfigurable. This will allow the assistive system to be mounted on various types of chairs commonly used by physiotherapists. Testing our solution in controlled environments with patients who require the exercise for real-time data. This helps us improve our solution, making the process more efficient.

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