Our overall goal is to provide products that improve the ability to walk and perform other activities of daily living independently. The initial primary target group is elderly individuals with problems walking, but we will eventually also target all individuals rehabilitating from circumstances which have caused them to temporarily loose the ability to walk independently. The specific aims of our Phase I project will be: (1) To perform a detailed testing of the safety of the WalkAbout. Both static analysis and dynamic testing will be performed. (2) To test the effectiveness of the WalkAbout in improving the ability of elderly individuals to walk while convalescing in the Acute Care of the Elderly (ACE) unit at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Assessment will involve completion of detailed questionnaires by the health care providers and, when possible, the patients using the WalkAbout. (3) To test a modification of the WalkAbout designed to provide security for individuals walking on the treadmill. (4)To perform detailed gait analysis to evaluate the abilities of individuals to walk normally in the WalkAbout as compared to other commercially-available walking aids. (5) To design and build prototypes that are height adjustable and collapsible for storage. We will also develop attachments for appropriate accessories, for example telescoping IV pole, arm trough, catheter bag holder, trays, etc, that will increase the versatility of the WalkAbout. (6) To produce a professional training videotape and user's manual demonstrating proper and safe use of the WalkAbout for inclusion with each unit. The end product of this Phase I project should be a well-designed walking device. It will be tested for safety in the laboratory as well as in a variety of clinical settings. The WalkAbout will be compared to existing devices in terms of safety as well as the promotion of a proper gait while walking. Ease of use for both the user and the caregiver will be assessed.
Thesaurus Terms: assistive device /technology, biomedical equipment development, gait, injury prevention aging, balance, biomedical equipment safety, training, videotape /videodisc bioengineering /biomedical engineering, clinical research, human subject, questionnaire
