Easy Mover

CEREBRAL PALSI WALKER

Easy mover is a mobility aid for patients suffering from Cerebral Palsy. The disorder causes lack of muscular control and poor strength of limbs hence distorting the normal physical movements a human body can perform. The product aims to ease the mobility of the user and can be used in standing as well as sitting positions.

The user is strapped on to the seat using belts and the front and back wheels provide motion. A removable pedal is provided to teach walking action to the patient. The user learns stepping action as his legs attached to the pedals move. Braking system is also provided to ensure safety. Over time the use of this product improves the strength of limbs and their coordination.

Need

In a survey conducted by the  Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, Cerebral palsy was found to be the most common motor disability in children. Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term for a group of disorders affecting body movement, balance, and posture. Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal development or damage in one or more parts of the brain that control muscle tone and motor activity (movement). Infants with cerebral palsy are usually slow to reach developmental milestones such as rolling over, sitting, crawling, and walking.

Common to all individuals with cerebral palsy is difficulty controlling and coordinating muscles. This makes even very simple movements difficult. As the patient gets older it gets further difficult to carry their body weight on their own. This disorder not only cripples the patient but also their family. Our team has been eyewitness to the extreme trauma that a cerebral palsy patient and his family goes through.

Over the years different kinds of wheel chairs, moving and standing equipment have been developed to assist cerebral palsy patients but most of them are inaccessible, difficult to handle and unaffordable to the families hence we developed the Easy mover to cater to economic conditions of the user as well.

What is the best way to tackle this disorder?

There is no absolute cure for cerebral palsy. The treatment begins first and foremost with physical therapy along with medication in order to prevent the weakening or deterioration of muscles that can develop with lack of use. Also, physical therapy will help avoid contractures, in which muscles become fixed in a rigid, abnormal position.

Easy mover tries to help them by assisting movements and by strengthening their limbs over time and thus tries to bring them back to a normal life.

How it works

The patient can move around using our product either by themselves or with the help of others. The light weight design of the walking aid enables mobility of the patient with ease. The user is strapped on to the seat of the walking aid using belts. Three belts are provided so that the user will not topple while moving around. The belts provide posterior support to the patient. The seat of walking aid is designed in such a way that the patient partial sitting posture i.e. the weight of the patient is supported by the aid. The user has the freedom to walk around and also to sit on the walking aid. The height of the device can be adjusted according to the need of the patient using the clamp and screw arrangement. A suspension is provided at the back so that it helps the patient to get back to his standing posture when he sits. The walking aid moves on four wheels. The front wheels are of free movement which helps in changing the direction of movement. The rear wheels are provided with wheel brake so that movement of the walking can be arrested.

A removable pedal is given to teach walking action to the patient. The device needs to be pushed first. The user learns stepping action as his legs attached to the pedals move. On continuous usage they will be able to develop muscle strength and improve coordination.

Market

 In India according to the national disability census around 20,66,000 females and 33.70,000 males have movement disability (including children) andnearly 15-20% of the total physically handicapped children suffer from Cerebral Palsy (CP). For India, the estimated incidence is around 3/1000 live births; however, being a developing country, the expected actual figure may be much higher.
An estimated 700000 people in the state of Kerala are disabled. This includes people suffering from autism, cerebral palsyetc. And hence there is a high need to improve our methods to improve the overall health of the population.
While prevention is better than cure we cannot turn a blind eye on the sick and it is our moral responsibility to try and bring them back to a normal life and with our product we try to do the same.
For a start we met a few patients directly. We are also keen in contacting hospitals and physiotherapy centres via which we can extend our helping hand to a larger number of patients. Palliative care units can also be a key link for us to reach rural areas.