Safari Scrapbook

Abstract

A multidisciplinary team of engineering students was formed in an effort to complete the senior design project required by Miami University. The study was conducted in Camden Town, London in May and June of 2014. Students collaborated with a privately owned physical therapy business, Kiki’s Clinic, located in Clapham, London. The project focus centers on developing a wear-resistant product for all ages to test grip and pinch strength. The major goal of this product is to develop a functional, safe, interactive product to make the therapist, parent and child’s lives easier and positively influenced. This will include an appealing interface for the child, as well as a simple-to-read, accurate display for the monitor.
Research as to what conditions affect grip and pinch strength has been conducted as well as current methods used to assess baseline and progress levels. Safety regulations as determined by the European Union have been established and employed when constructing design ideas. After much prototyping, the final design idea was decided to be a rectangular-shaped camera with pressure sensors on each vertical handle along with a pressure sensor on the upper horizontal part that will serve as the pinch sensor. The child-friendly interface to accompany this design will be a safari scrapbook. This will allow for patient testing, along with the opportunity for the child to practice by adding more pictures to their scrapbook.
This device tests right and left grip strengths individually, simultaneously, and it also tests pinch strength. The data from the various tests will be sent out and converted to an Excel patient file. Each trial will be recorded, and a graph of strength versus time will be generated for the therapist’s reference.