Onefirst stageThis is not only research in qualitative, scientific papers, but also practice is an essential part of the process. It is especially important to get a good picture of the different types of engineered people who experience this problem. By getting to know the problems and the daily lives of the people who are confronted with them, I also take inspiration for the design of a new product, to make it much easier for them. It's also very important to think up and test a number of different ideas, so that we can focus on one concept in a subsequent phase.
Thesecond stagethen, as mentioned earlier, to further develop the chosen concept by iterative testing; this phase starts about the end of January. In doing so I will test the prototype with some users each time, get new insights about the concept, modify the design and restart it with tests. In this way I can obtain a product that meets some important requirements: safety, use, ... This phase runs until about the ends of April.
From then on, it is intended to be aStage Three, to fully capture the design and to work out it well, this defines the different aspects of the product (material selection, dimensions, ...) and can also be commercialized. This phase is of course combined with finishing the master thesis itself so that everything can be submitted at the beginning of June.
As you can probably expect, I am now busy investigating the problem. I have already done some interviews with kinesi therapists, but also with my target group. What strikes me is the variety of these people; I have been by people with hip prosthesis, people who have had knee surgery (with complications such as bruising and nerves affected), people who had a brain bleed (which makes the left side of their body not functioning properly), but also people with MS.
By observing the various exercises they have to do from the kinesis (and of course also standing up and sitting down), I can see what goes wrong during the performances (motions, postures, muscles, ...), but also what solutions the physicists offer to tackle these problems (strengthening the muscles, reducing balance problems, ...) but also which external devices can be used to stimulate muscles (such as electrostimulation).
I will also have these users test, if possible, some of the existing tools (Handybar, Car Caddie, Handy Handle, Freya Railo, but also the result of my Bachelor's Experiment last year) to see what is good or bad about this. This can also provide useful information, which I can use in my own new design.
There is still a lot of work to be done, but I find it an extremely interesting subject and am very motivated. I am also very grateful for the willingness of the physiotherapists where I can observe, the enthusiasm and cooperation of their patients, and the opportunity that I get to help these people!
Greetings and see you soon,
Julie Maes
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