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Bradley White, 67 years old and suffers from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He experiences numbness in his left leg and is blind in his left eye. The biggest challenge in his day-to-day life is fatigue. Bradley is one of the millions of people suffering from MS globally. Due to this, he particularly struggles with showering due to fear of falling. He is also forced to hold onto the shower wall for added stability, increasing his fatigue.
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We set out to design a device for patients with Multiple Sclerosis that aims to help reduce the fatigue they face in their everyday lives. This device should be comfortable to use, easy to manage and safe .
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Aqua Anchor is a device that is attached to the ceiling of the shower. It uses a affordable and easily accessible hooking system that allows it to be taken on and off to reduce the inconvenience whenever it’s not needed. The hook is attached to a cushioned vest where the user will fasten themselves using an ergonomic buckle. This secures the user in the vest and holds them up, preventing falls and reducing the strain of shower with MS.
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Having the ability to talk to a user, ask questions and probe into what issues they have and what we can do to help them was enlightening. We initially focused on his issue of fatigue but after deliberations between teammates we decided to focus on a issue he talked about with passion, his inability and fear of showering. We focused on that for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of our prototyping process.
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After a few initial prototype sketches we agreed on the general concept. Due to having a high proficiency in CAD and prototype sketching, I took charge of the mechanical aspect of our device. I first began to sketch and develop a design of a ball with a string attached allowing 360 degree motion. I then designed railings that it would slot into allowing linear motion within the shower. While this idea satisfied our criteria, it was over engineered and had multiple minor issues that would require more development to iron out.
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After seeing the flaws in the original design I set out to find a solution. A single point of attachment with a centrifugal clutch would allow Bradley to move around freely and bend over while still being to catch him during a fall. I then single handled sketched, designed a 3D model in CAD. It included a expansion joint, a retainer and an outer shell. I designed each piece to be able to withstand the shock of stopping Bradley from falling.
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Due to RPM requirements, I designed a mechanism where a 1:5 gear ratio is used to speed up the RPM of the centrifugal clutch. This required an overhaul of the original one rod solution so I created this entire prototype myself. This was going to be used in tandem with a harness, where the rope of the harness wraps around the large gear’s rod converting the torque of falling into RPM for the centrifugal clutch
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