Project Overview

Problem:

It is extremely difficult for elderly people to lower themselves into, or rise up from a seated position. Since the population over 65 years old is growing, it is a growing problem that hinders a growing demographic. The current state of the art products used to assist with this problem are expensive and not very effective.

Solution:

Three teammates and I developed a product that securely supports an elderly user as an assistant or family member lowers or hoists him or her out of a seated position. By grasping the SeatEasy's handles, leaning back, and pivoting off of planted feet, the assistant can leverage his or her weight against the user's to hoist him or her up with very little strain on both stakeholders. The padded design ensures that the SeatEasy can remain under users for long car rides after helping them into their seat, and then it is already in place to help them out of the car once the ride is over. My 90 year old grandmother used the product to assist her 89 year old husband out of chairs with ease.

The final product was made from thermoplastic supports, padding, fabric covering, sturdy handles, and velcro straps. — The final product was made from thermoplastic supports, padding, fabric covering, sturdy handles, and velcro straps.

Design Process

Design Process Overview

We initially focused on getting out of the car, and generated feedback from the users by visiting elderly homes around Hanover with currently available products. Their feedback suggested that the state of the art products were not secure enough, and weren’t helpful or easy to use. After analyzing their feedback, we narrowed our target group to focus on elderly people with assistants.

State of the Art Testing

We used a force plate and Tracker Video analysis to quantify the position and the force exerted by the user to get out of the car. We tested the user on their own, and with the state of the art products in order to benchmark their efficiencies to ensure our product further reduced the load on the user.

Product Iterations

Our testing results allowed us to quickly move away from an above the head handle, since 80% of elderly people have rotator cuff issues that prevent them from reaching above their head. We began designing seats with handles, that could be used to lower and lower users into and out of a seated position.

Our users helped us test multiple iterations of the product, allowing us to optimize the design to their liking.

Final Designs

We drew up the final design, and constructed it in SolidWorks as well.

Final Product

We then constructed the product's handles (1) out of sturdy fabric straps, the security belts (2) out of velcro straps, and the base of the seat (3) out of thermoplastic supports, padding, and fabric.

Testing the Final Product

We conducted tests on the final product both within our team and with our users, and determined that our final product allowed for a 29% decrease in the amount of work required by the user, as compared to the state of the art.

Seat Easy