Wheelchair Mount
Top View
SMA patients are confined to wheelchairs, therefore the rehabilitative arm needed to have the ability to be attached to a wheelchair. This concept has been mentioned early when discussing the shape of the shoulder arc plate that was required to clear the handle on the wheelchair. The attachment for the wheelchair needed to be able to support the weight of the device yet also detach easily. The shoulder bracket that housed the motor and the shoulder arc plate was the rotational axis of the shoulder; therefore the location of this bracket was critical. The axis of rotation of the shoulder joint on the device must match the shoulder joint of the patient
In order to create a mounting surface for the device, the handles of the wheelchair were utilized by placing plastic sleeves over them. The plastic sleeves were attached to ¾” plywood that hung underneath the handles of the chair. The plastic sleeves were drilled and taped to allow for the attachment of both the plywood and two bolts on each sleeve. These upper bolts are used to secure the sleeve onto the handles of the chair. As the bolts tightened, they clamped onto the handles of the chair. The last step of creating the chair mount was attaching the shoulder bracket to the plywood surface.