{"488041":{"#nid":"488041","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Building a Better Mobility Device","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EIn baseball, if you want any chance of connecting, you\u2019ve got to swing a rounded bat at an elusive round ball speeding toward you. When making a proposal to the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Capstone Design program all I had to do was hit the \u2018submit\u2019 button, and I connected twice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ELast July, my wife and I submitted a project idea on behalf of our son, Joe. The online form asks for a \u201cclinical need to be addressed.\u201d As a baby, Joe was diagnosed with\u0026nbsp;spastic quadriplegia, a severe form of cerebral palsy. He\u2019s 14 now and his needs are wide-ranging. So we focused on mobility and proposed a better \u2018gait trainer,\u2019 an assistive walking device on wheels for people like Joe who can\u2019t walk independently.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe market for pediatric devices is challenging enough and the device we were proposing, with an improved harness and mobility, addresses really specific needs. Since there\u2019s no guarantee that a student Capstone team will take on your project, and since most proposals are submitted by healthcare professionals, biomedical industry members and academic researchers, we didn\u2019t have a lot of expectations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThen I got an email shortly after fall semester began, from James Rains, professor of practice and director of BME Capstone. Our project had \u201creceived quite a bit of student interest,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAfter additional review we felt that it would be preferable to have two multi-disciplinary teams take a crack at trying to develop a solution.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESuddenly, we\u2019d gone from a shot in the dark to a double bulls eye. It was a little intimidating. Now the pressure was on, for Jane and I as Joe\u2019s parents, but especially for the engineering seniors who had only until December to conceive of and complete a prototype designed to serve our boy\u2019s mobility needs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cTeaming up with not one, but two, design teams seemed like it was going to be one of those, taking-on-more-than-we-could-chew projects,\u201d says Jane, who works for the Georgia Parent Mentor Partnership, a group that works to improve outcomes for students with disabilities by fostering collaboration between families, educators and the community.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cBut as we got into the process, I realized that all the pressure was on these amazing students,\u201d she says. \u201cWe were mainly there for support, to answer questions and to help Joe be part of the teams.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAnd what teams they were, each comprised of biomedical (BME) and mechanical engineering (ME) students. Joe is a big fan of super heroes, so it felt perfectly natural to think of these senior students as super hero squads, a la the Avengers or the Justice League, each individual bringing his or her skills and super powers to accentuate the whole. That theme carried over into their work -- one of the teams used Iron Man colors for its device, and the other used an Iron Man image in their project video (proving they were both paying attention to my son\u0027s super hero preference).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EFirst to reach out via email was a team that called itself, \u2018Joey on the Move.\u2019 Shushmita (Sushi) Hoque introduced herself as the team\u2019s liaison. She and Clay Mangiameli were the biomedical engineers. They were joined by a trio of MEs: Austin Longnecker, Luke Smith and Tommy Garces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cIt was a big deal for us to work as an interdisciplinary team of engineers, to find something that involves biomedical and mechanical engineering, and when we saw Joey\u2019s projects, we saw how everyone could play a role,\u201d says Sushi.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThen we heard from the \u2018League of Extraordinary Engineers,\u2019 a six-person team with two BMEs, Tammy Diehl and Corey Holeman, and four MEs \u2013 Tim Burnham, Samantha Ramey, Jacob French and our liaison, Claire Servinsky.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESushi and Claire kept us posted on the teams\u2019 progress with regular updates as they reached their periodic deadlines every few weeks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe set up deliverable milestones throughout the semester, which helps facilitate how the teams get to their final design,\u201d says Rains. \u201cWe don\u2019t want the teams making a prototype on day one. They need to step back and figure out what the problem is that they\u2019re trying to solve. It\u2019s about understanding the user and the need first, and then understanding the engineering requirements.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ETo help the teams understand what they were getting into, Jane and I shared videos of Joe walking in the gait trainers he used at home, school and at his physical therapy sessions (which used to be held at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, about 30 miles from our home in Sautee Nacoochee).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe students made several road trips. Over the course of the semester, each team visited our home twice and made separate trips to observe Joe at physical therapy at UNG. In early September, they each came to the house \u2013 an 85-mile drive from Georgia Tech \u2013 so they could see the challenges up close.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGetting Joe into a gait trainer, with its harness and web of straps and difficult adjustments (and his dead weight \u2013 he can\u2019t stand on his own), requires a strong back and an extra arm or two wouldn\u2019t hurt. It typically takes two adults to get the job done. In working through the process, the students could see that what we needed was a device that was easier to use for both Joe and his aging parents!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cBoth teams asked great questions,\u201d says Jane. \u201cAnd, while we didn\u2019t have to explain the mechanics of the pieces of mobility equipment we were demonstrating,\u0026nbsp;our teams learned a lot about the realities of people with motor and neuromuscular disabilities.\u0026nbsp;This was very important to us. As end users of the potential designs they created, and because these designs were going to be our son\u2019s path to more personal freedom and independent mobility, it was very important that the teams understood the whys and what ifs, not the just the what and the how of the designs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EWhile both teams clearly considered all of the above, they took slightly different paths to their prototypes. Joey on the Move took a more methodical approach, like the one Rains describes, while The League moved fairly quickly into the design process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cIn BME the initial focus is on defining the problem, and that\u2019s something that Sushi and I kept in mind,\u201d explains Clay. \u201cMeanwhile, the mechanical engineers were chomping at the bit, wanting to design a prototype right off the bat.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo the team studied our son and how he moved. They also interviewed other physical therapists and families and clinicians who helped them understand the broad range of challenges associated with cerebral palsy. As parents, we made it clear early on that while our ideas were based on Joe\u2019s needs, the teams might be better off thinking broadly about devices that could serve the needs of a larger population.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cOur main focus early on was to learn about the current devices out there and gain ideas from that,\u201d says Sushi. It wasn\u2019t until near the end of October that they had a viable design concept.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe League, on the other hand, seemed to follow an ME dominant approach \u2013 within a week of their early September visit, Claire sent us a copy of five design concepts they\u2019d drawn up, asking what we liked and didn\u2019t like about each. And by the middle of October, this note arrived from Claire: \u201cWe are moving along with our design and are getting close to being able to prototype our design. We are very excited to share our progress with you and to begin building our prototype!\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, Sushi kept sending us weekly updates, each report giving us a peek into what the Capstone process is like for these busy seniors:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u2022 October 12 (following a visit to Joe\u2019s PT session with Dr. Terrie Millard): \u201cThe meeting was extremely helpful as we learned more about what Joey needs and the specific problems he encounters when using his assistive mobility devices. \u2026 Additionally, our team is currently in the concept generation phase \u2026 each team member will be bringing in 20 concept sketches of devices or parts of a device that would perform particular functions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u2022 Oct. 27: \u201c\u2026 we have mainly focused on completing the Prior Art Report deliverable \u2026 we have begun to refine our final design to prepare it for prototyping. As seen in the report, our team has preliminary CAD (computer aided design) models for our top three concept designs. We are going forward with the first concept \u2026 once we finalize our design, we will order materials and begin building a prototype of the assistive walker we have designed.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u2022 Nov. 10: \u201c ... we met for approximately eight hours on Friday \u2026 spent a lot of time doing calculations to ensure that the device will be able to support the necessary weight and height. \u2026 we discussed at length the types of steel that we need. \u2026 The main issue is being able to build the device on time. We have less than a month before the Capstone Expo, so every second counts! \u2026\u0026nbsp; we will be picking up some of our materials directly from McMaster-Carr, a local company, to avoid shipping time and costs. The frame metal is being shipped from Speedy Metals, which is located in the Midwest. \u2026 once the prototype is done, we will begin testing to see if the device is safe and if it can hold the required loads. \u2026 we have prepared a riveting sales pitch for a competition in our lab section.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThen it was Joe\u2019s turn to be a test pilot. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, both teams arrived at our house, a few hours apart, to give their prototypes a test run. Jane and I were like the proverbial kids in a toy store. The teams had created useable prototypes that were very different. The League of Extraordinary Engineers based their design on a TAOS Walker while Joey on the Move created something closer to the LiteGait (Joe has had experience on both of these mobility products). Both teams managed to simplify the harness and the process of getting Joe into the device, and improve the mechanism for raising and lowering the device, to adjust the effects of gravity on our son.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDecember 3\u003Csup\u003Erd\u003C\/sup\u003E was showtime, the Capstone Design Expo, when all engineering seniors put their projects on display and deliver their presentations to a rotating, shoulder-to-shoulder crowd of judges and other attendees in McCamish Pavillion. Though it was a school night, Jane, Joe and I drove down to Atlanta to watch our teams in action.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EAfter several months of research, of asking questions and gathering information and materials and turning all of that into a product, these students behaved like seasoned pros. If they were nervous, they didn\u2019t show it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThe expo itself was less stressful than the previous few months,\u201d says Clay. \u201cWe\u2019d gone through the design process, we knew the project backwards and forwards, gone through a pitch competition. We were ready. It felt like we got into a rhythm that night at the expo.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EEach team demonstrated how their prototypes work \u2013 diminutive Sushi actually strapped herself in to explain the device her team created.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBoth teams had videos of Joe using the device, and throughout the night, strangers who had visited our teams would come up to Joe and introduce themselves, \u201chey, you\u2019re Joey! We just saw you on the video!\u201d Our son basked in his new-found celebrity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThough neither of our teams won an award at the expo, my family felt like champions of the night. Our son now had two different devices to help him comfortably achieve new levels of independent mobility. He\u2019ll use the devices at home and we\u2019ll continue adjusting and improving, taking the best aspects of each and marrying them together. They\u2019re prototypes, wonderful works in progress.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe students have graduated, moved on to the next challenges in their lives. Sushi is going to pursue medical school. We\u2019ve made new friends and I feel as if the students gained new insights into what it\u2019s like to try and remake the world so a child can just be a child, something my wife and I have been working at for 14 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cOverall, the Capstone Design experience was a great one for us,\u201d says Jane. \u201cWe will experiment further with both of the designs and help Joe continue to perfect and demonstrate this mobility equipment, designed for a child with significant neuromuscular disorders.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p3\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p3\u0022\u003EThat was the point, after all. As the League of Extraordinary Engineers explains in its project description, \u201cOur goal is to design and develop a mobility device to assist a specific child with cerebral palsy, in particular to make up-right mobility easier through improving core and head support without restricting his gait.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBoth teams accomplished what they set out to do for the fall semester. But this was just one lap in a much longer race -- Joe\u0027s life isn\u0027t a sprint; it\u0027s more like a marathon run over an obstacle course. Underlying all of that is the desire to be as fully human as possible. Before either team could make material improvements, they had to embrace Joe\u2019s humanity. They accomplished this as well.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThe mom in me was very touched by how each team really seemed to connect with the kid in Joe,\u201d Jane says. \u201cSometimes, it\u2019s important for a kid to just be a kid. Our Capstone teams never lost sight of that.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EStory by Jerry Grillo\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Ejerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Capstone Design process becomes a family affair"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ECapstone Design process becomes a family affair\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Capstone Design process becomes a family affair"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2016-01-19 21:21:13","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:27","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"488021":{"id":"488021","type":"image","title":"Sushi jumping","body":null,"created":"1453309200","gmt_created":"2016-01-20 17:00:00","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"Sushi jumping","file":{"fid":"204368","name":"sushi_jumping.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sushi_jumping_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sushi_jumping_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":636245,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sushi_jumping_0.jpg?itok=vCFdijMk"}},"488031":{"id":"488031","type":"image","title":"League of Extraordinary Engineers","body":null,"created":"1453309200","gmt_created":"2016-01-20 17:00:00","changed":"1475895242","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:02","alt":"League of Extraordinary Engineers","file":{"fid":"204369","name":"claire_team.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/claire_team_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/claire_team_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1252060,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/claire_team_0.jpg?itok=eunnf_DI"}}},"media_ids":["488021","488031"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"9835","name":"capstone design"},{"id":"171587","name":"cerebral palsy"},{"id":"1482","name":"mobility"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}