Development of portable hand cycle for children with cerebral palsy - The Malaysian scenario: Wheelchair propulsion motion

• Main Authors: Zheng, Chong Yu, Yang, Tang Tee
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomechanical Devices; Cerebral Palsy; Handcycle; Heart rate; Propulsion; Prototypes; Rehabilitation; Testing; Training; WheelChair Propulsion; Wheelchairs; Wheels
• ISSN: 2572-7621
• DOI: 10.1109/R10-HTC.2017.8289092

This paper discussed the development of handcycle for rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy. According to various studies conducted in Malaysia, the Availability, Accessibility, and Affordability (3As) of rehabilitation devices or equipment are inadequate. Hence, this paper highlights one of the possible solution catering at rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy. This handcycle was developed with support from IEEE-Special Interest Group in Humanitarian Technology (IEEE-SIGHT), My SI GHT 4Rehab. The proposed solution utilized readily available components to mimic wheelchair propulsion that will prepare these CP Children in the event of wheelchair utilization in their future daily life. The proposed system incorporated interactive training algorithms in addition to the hardware setup. Besides that, real-time tracking of the heart rate, and movement parameters were also made available alongside with interactive user interface. Furthermore, to fulfill the 3As requirements, the proposed solution was developed with cost of less than RM 500 (∼USD 120). It is anticipated that the proposed system will be a catalyst in springboarding further development of such rehabilitation system.