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Owen O’Brien, Matthew Kim, Aya Ibrahim, and Luke Lattyak observed user Marc Tinsley on April 28th, 2022. The session consisted of an observation followed by specific questions about the user, his goals, and his daily environment. The purpose of this session was to better understand the physical limitations that Marc faces and to determine how our device may function in conjunction with existing devices as well as the environment. This appendix explains the methodology used to conduct the observation, describes the specific limitations faced by Marc, and summarizes the results of the observation.
Methodology
The observation took place virtually over zoom with Marc calling in from his bedroom. Marc was observed walking, sitting on the edge of his bed, and climbing into bed to lay down. After this, Marc was asked several clarifying questions about his level of ability and existing solutions to the design task.
Information about the user and the environment
The user, Marc Tinsley, was born with cerebral palsy and has limited control in the left side of his body. Following a surgery in 2016, Marc has lost much use in his right leg while his left leg has notably improved. Marc experiences extreme difficulty getting into his bed and struggles to get his legs off of the floor. As a result, Marc often sits at the edge of his bed rather than fully laying down. This causes problems as Marc takes medicine which causes him to suddenly fall asleep, leaving him prone to falling off of the bed and onto the floor.
These characteristics of the environment are relevant to the design challenge:
Marc uses a brace on both legs which supports him from below the knee to the bottom of his foot
The TV in Marc’s room is facing towards his bed; as a result laying down is Marc’s ideal viewing position
Marc’s bed is queen sized with a solid headboard, there is a bedrail on the left side of the bed which Marc uses for support while getting in and out of bed
User’s Difficulties
Walking
Uses a walker, cane, and wheelchair to support movement
Experiences lower back pain when standing for long periods
Feels uncomfortable standing, grabs surfaces for support
Feet shuffle with small steps
Wears a brace (see Figure 1) on both legs to increase his stability while standing
This brace limits mobility in the user’s ankle as a result
Figure 1: Image of the user's leg braces while in bed
Figure 1: Image of the user's bed ladder
Left Arm Mobility
Left arm bent and tucked towards body
Left hand can open to roughly half the distance as the right (unaffected) hand
Left arm cannot be relied upon to generate force
Sitting on Edge of Bed
Grabs onto bed rail for support
Feels comfortable sitting on bed independently
Sits with average posture, no noticeable leaning or slouching
Getting into Bed
Uses bed ladder (see figure 2) to pull torso with right hand
Rolls onto stomach while pulling self
Kicks legs against bed rail to push self
Long (>1 min) process, very difficult
User Observation Table
This observation provided insightful information about the user and his specific needs and limitations. Prior to this session, we were under the impression that Marc was looking for a restraint to prevent him from falling. Following the observation, we have realized that the most useful design to explore is an assistive device to aid Marc in getting into bed. This observation was limited as we were unable to test Marc’s level of strength in any appendage in a quantitative manner and therefore all assertions of ability should be understood as solely Marc’s thoughts rather than a precise metric. Moving forward, we would like to test designs with Marc directly in order to assess his ability to bear weight as well as his range of motion. This assessment can be done relative to our design goal using his own bodyweight as a reference in addition to quantitative analysis of how much force he is able to overcome in all appendages.
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