Post #1

Project statement:

Our group has chosen to address the issue of Parkinson's patients being separated from their walking assistance devices.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive disease of the nervous system marked by tremors, muscular rigidity, and slow, imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people. It is associated with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain and a deficiency of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Many medium-stage Parkinson's disease patients continue to live at home under care from a significant other and/or a professional caretaker. Despite their limited motor skills, many patients remain very mobile in their homes. Most patients rely on a wheeled walker to walk safely around their residences. This gives them something to brace off of when they have a dizzy spell or if they get “stuck” walking. In the case of getting stuck, the walker can help trigger walking again. 

The main problem here comes down to varying levels of ability from minute to minute. Patients will often use a walker to navigate to a part of their home, for example, the kitchen. Then while performing tasks in the kitchen, they may become separated from the walker. At that point, they may become stuck and need the walker again, but are too far away to reach it. Thus requiring a caretaker to retrieve the walker. However, this would require the caretaker to be always close with the patient which is not always feasible for the significant other. Alternatively, a full-time team of caretakers can be employed to watch over the patient but this is costly and subject to labor shortages among professional caretakers.  

We propose a solution where stretch can be given auditory instruction to fetch the walker for the patient and position it appropriately in front of the patient. We envision a scenario where the patient and the walker are separated by a few meters but Stretch is within sensory range of both. Upon the patient issuing an auditory cue, Stretch will detect and navigate to the walker. Once at the walker, Stretch will grab hold with the walker's manipulator arm. Stretch will then pull the walker to the patient and rotate the walker such that it is oriented correctly in front of the patient. Stretch will then gently push the walker up to the patient and hold it still until the patient audibly acknowledges they have a hold of the walker. 

     ~ Team Lending a Hand