Exercises - D6

Objective (why?)

With the work and study from home environments created by the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals are spending significantly more time sitting in front of screens. In order to prevent poor posture habits from being developed and ensuing neck and back pain later in life, our goal is to create a brace capable of detecting the user’s posture.

Background (who? where?)

This product will be aimed at the average person, aiming to improve their posture and ensure they have a healthy back for the future. It may be particularly useful to physical therapists, chiropractors, and people who now work from home and have experienced heightened back and posture issues.

Methodology (how? when?)

Using a brace fitted with orientation sensors and a connected app which can track posture over time, and potentially communicating that information to health professionals or using the advice of health professionals to recommend better posture.

Expected Results (what?)

Actionable posture readings. Improved posture and decreased short and long-term back pain, and communicating those readings via IoT with health professionals.

Costs (how much will it cost?)

The product itself is expected to comprise an array of sensors, a sheath or brace to house the sensors and keep the array at a fixed location on the back, a micro controller, and a cell-phone companion application to store the data. The cost of these components, in addition to the time investment of application development, research on anatomy and physiology of the back, and construction of the product itself constitutes the majority of the cost of this product. As the details of the project are developed, and sensor types and microcontroller requirements become clear, we will be able to make a more accurate cost assessment based on the cost of individual components.

Design Tasks:

1. Design the sensor system and calibrate it to measure and provide feedback about posture and back position.

2. Design the wearable portion to be lightweight and simple, while not impeding accuracy.

3. Design the accompanying app or software to be easy to use as well as providing consistent, quality feedback from the sensors.

• General design goals

  • Make a user-friendly alternative to chiropractor or other medical care (not meant to REPLACE medical care altogether).

  • Be able to take accurate measurements of posture with a user-friendly system people can use in their own homes.

  • Provide useful feedback to users so that they can use the provided data to improve their posture without any further outside guidance.

  • Specific design goals:

    • Create an application that gives specific, continuous feedback to maintain correct posture and help minimize back pain and spinal issues.

    • Make sure the measurements are accurate and painless.

    • Usable by people like the elderly, or others with mobility issues, since the point is to relieve back pain and help posture.

• Identify the constraints or specifications associated with each design goal:

  • A lightweight design that can be worn without fatiguing the user -- aim for 5-10 lbs, no more than a heavy jacket.

  • Sensitive enough measurements to be useful, but not so sensitive that the device needs to be used by an expert.

• Path Elimination:

  • We eliminated creating an ‘over the chair’ version of the product, since accuracy and ease of use could be impacted by what furniture someone has available, and we didn’t want to include a chair itself in the design.

Current products exists with different methods of application (electronic sensors and physical braces) at a wide range of price:

• Upright-GO

• Clavicle Corrector

• Back Posture Corrector Vibrator

• Adjustable Corrector Vibration

• Trainer Remainder

Patents:

• Global Spine Alignment Method

System Model

Our primary system model will be stochastic, as our product will be collecting extensive empirical data to predict and recommend user behavior. From several initial posture readings of the user, an ideal recommendation can be generated and put into practice. As these empirical measurements allow us to calculate an approximation, there will be an inherent degree of uncertainty.

Process Model

Though our product incorporates elements of both descriptive and prescriptive models, we believe the end goal will ultimately be more of a prescriptive model.

The software that will compliment our hardware device will be able to utilize the empirical data provided from continuous sensor readings. From these measurements, our application will be able to prescribe general guidelines and practices for how improper posture can be corrected. These recommendations will likely be both proactive and reactive, as we want to reach as broad of a market as possible by providing users with as much information as they would see fit. The guidelines would be crafted with the intention of helping users achieve our product’s purpose of maintaining more proper posture.

Foreseeable misuses

• User error

  • Incorrect user application of device could lead to bad posture data gathering.

  • Incorrect interpretation of posture data could lead to incorrect medical recommendations.

  • Misunderstanding of feedback could lead to less than positive results from the device's algorithm.

• Device error

  • Uncalibrated posture sensors could produce “bad” posture data, resulting in poor feedback.

  • Individual parts malfunctioning could lead to unknown sources of bad data.

  • Noise from outside sources could potentially scew the data provided to the sensors/device.

Changes that may occur during the useful lifetime

• The corresponding website and app may update/evolve (ideally for the better) over the product's lifetime. This may lead to confusion, learning curves or loss of features for users.

• Sensors could lose sensitivity or need calibration without the user knowing. Need a way to detect lack of calibration.

Disposal after the useful life has ended

• Electronic/plastic (depends on the material used) waste would preferably be recycled or otherwise disposed of in a landfill.

• Any batteries or electronic waste can contribute to eWaste problems and cause environmental problems down the road and need to be disposed of properly.

• In order to minimize user error, a detailed manual should be made detailing proper use of the advice, and tutorial videos should be made on how to correctly put on and take measurements using the device.

• This manual should include signs of what to look for in a malfunctioning device in order to rule out non-user error measurement issues.

• In order to prevent bad posture data from being produced as a result of the device itself rigorous quality assurance should be done to ensure that the device works and is calibrated properly.

• Make sure that there are materials used or a system in place to minimize noise or outside interference from messing up the data and resulting feedback.

• To prevent the incorrect interpretation of (good) posture data only medically licensed professionals should be used to make posture recommendations, or be involved in the process that generates the feedback.

Kepner-Tregoe Decision Matrix and Evaluation Matrix