Using Our Technical Expertise

Saima’s Support Arm

Saima and Zubair are teenagers with a severe hereditary condition characterized by muscle weakness, poor control of movement and co-ordination. They are unable to walk or speak but can communicate by other means. Both are lively and enthusiastic pupils at their special school in Hertfordshire but their disabilities prevent them from fully participating in educational activities.

Some time ago DEMAND designed an articulating arm support for Zubair. This attaches to a custom made mount on his wheelchair and balances the weight of his arm, allowing him to reach and handle objects more easily. It proved to be so effective both educationally and therapeutically that the Occupational Therapist asked DEMAND to make another for Saima, who has similar needs for support.

The design of Saima’s arm support benefitted from the feedback on the performance of Zubair’s support. The new support arm is much easier to fit and set up, and the lifting force can be fine tuned while the support is being used, allowing it to be adapted to suit variations in the tasks being carried out.

A third child at the school, Tanzeela, has the same condition so DEMAND made and fitted a mount to her wheelchair so that she could share Saima’s support.

Saima and Zubair are teenagers with a severe hereditary condition characterized by muscle weakness, poor control of movement and co-ordination. They are unable to walk or speak but can communicate by other means.Both are lively and enthusiastic pupils at their special school in Hertfordshire but their disabilities prevent them from fully participating in educational activities.

It proved to be so effective both educationally and therapeutically that the Occupational Therapist asked DEMAND to make another for Saima, who has similar needs for support.

The design of Saima’s arm support benefitted from the feedback on the performance of Zubair’s support.

The new support arm is much easier to fit and set up, and the lifting force can be fine tuned while the support is being used, allowing it to be adapted to suit variations in the tasks being carried out.

A third child at the school, Tanzeela, has the same condition so DEMAND made and fitted a mount to her wheelchair so that she could share Saima’s support.

Angela’s Folding Walker

Background

Angela has Multiple Sclerosis. Although unable to walk more than a short distance without support, she is capable of riding a bicycle. As a lecturer at Oxford University, she travels between various locations around the campus and depends on her bike to give her independence.

The Challenge

Angela needed to transfer to a walker at the end of each bike journey but was unable to carry a standard walker on her bike due to their size and weight. She therefore needed

someone to be available to help her at each location, significantly limiting her independence. She asked DEMAND to devise some way of allowing her to carry a walker on her bike.

The Solution

A standard walker, even when folded, is too unwieldy for it to be practical to attach to a bike. DEMAND designed a strong but lightweight walker which folds up small enough to fit in a custom-made pannier which attaches to the rack of the bike. When Angela returns home, the pannier, with the walker inside, can be easily detached and taken indoors.

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