Development of a Simple Supporter for Reducing Lower Back Exertion

Imado, Keiji; Ikeuchi, Hidetaka; Miura, Atsuyoshi; Itho, Tomoko; Ohnishi, Kengo

doi:10.3951/biomechanisms.18.79

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Consequently, various devices and robots have been developed. Imado et al developed a simple supporter for reducing lower back exertion when lifting a person using rubber tubes [5]. Molift Inc. developed the "Quick Raiser 2," which lifts a user with a linear actuator and supports the standing up and seating motions [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Wheelchair with a Lifting Function

Mori

Sakai

Katsumura

2012

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

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A wheelchair with a lifting function is designed to assist a caregiver when transferring a wheelchair user not only indoors but also outdoors. The target user is typically a severely disabled person with disabled upper and lower limbs and therefore needs the physical support when using a toilet or transferring from a bed to a wheelchair and so forth. Both the wheelchair and the lift are driven by their respective motors. The user can approach above the toilet stool or the bed from the rear because the large driving wheels are located in front of the body, and the seat can be folded. This wheelchair is allowed to travel on public roads because of the mechanism of folding the frame for lifting. This paper presents the concept design and the experimental results of a full-sized prototype wheelchair with the lifting function, which confirms the design effectiveness.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Wheelchair with a Lifting Function

Mori

Sakai

Katsumura

2012

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

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Postural stabilization by trunk tightening force generated by passive power-assist device

Imamura

Tanaka

Nara

et al. 2013

2013 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC)

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We are developing a passive power-assist supporter called Smart Suit Lite, which is a compact and lightweight power-assist device that utilizes the restoring force of elastic belts. Smart Suit Lite is designed not only to support muscles but also to stabilize the torso similarly to a corset. However, because a corset is always tight around the waist, negative effects caused by long-term use has been pointed out. In contrast, the tightening force generated by Smart Suit Lite increases only when the wearer adopts a posture corresponding to higher load on the low back. In this research, we performed two basic experiments to evaluate the static balance ability of wearers. As a result, the standard deviation of the lumbar angle decreased by 32.1% on average in wearers with low stability.

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