Team Members
Robert Anhalt, Mallori Johnson, William Love, Sebastian Moreno, Adriana Villares, William Wallace, Benjamin Weeks
Abstract
The designed human lift system and support harness will be used in conjunction with a pre-existing motorized functional electrical stimulation (FES) elliptical stepping machine to provide adequate assistance during gait training. The Dual Motor Mobile Elliptical Lift System (DMMELS) contains two independent winches powered by two servomotors that allow for precise control of angular position and velocity when transporting and supporting the user. The two winches act as both the lifting mechanism and the controllable weight offset, simplifying the overall design, minimizing costs, and providing the user/trainer with an intuitive user interface. The motors are coupled to encoders that supply position feedback; this is essential when lifting a user from their wheelchair and also when accounting for the change in mass as a user is moving. The benefit of using two winches and motors above both of the user’s shoulders is that it accounts for patients who experience bilateral coordination. The controllable weight offset component can be adjusted on either winch system to supply more or less support depending on the capabilities of each of the user’s legs. The frame’s adjustable push buttons allow for easy height adaptation when transporting the system from different rooms and also when modifying depending on a patient’s height. Customization of the frame allows for a larger range of users to be able to comfortably use the DMMELS without limitations.