Ideation

After meeting with our participant, we started ideating on some possible solutions. Our user gave us several options of exercises he struggles with. The main goal was for the user to be able to stretch his legs in a standing position as well as a bicycle position (one leg forwards and one backwards) and horse position (sideways) of his legs.
We first started with some general ideation, following with more specific ideation per requirement and finally we did some ideation in two more specific directions: exoskeleton and weight support.

General ideation

The sketches in this phase were very general, we mainly ideated on possible exoskeletons as this was an idea of our participant himself. The exoskeletons are mostly focused around the knee, as this will provide the user more stability when stretching his legs. These sketches can be found in appendix 2.

Ideation per requirement

We then decided to do some more specific ideation per requirement. We tried to focus on solutions that could fix one problem so that we were able to combine the ideas at the end. These sketches can be found in appendix 3.

Specific directions ideation

After generating some ideas per requirement we came up with two more specific concept directions: exoskeleton and weight support.
The idea of the exoskeleton is mostly to give the participant support and enough stability while standing up. Furthermore, we wanted the exoskeleton to also support the horse and bike position while standing up.
The weight support idea is mostly focused on supporting his weight whenever the participant wants to stretch his legs. This way, he won’t have to put all his weight on his knees, allowing him to be able to stretch his legs more easily.

Research on existing solutions

Since HSP is a wide range disease, a number of symptoms and solutions for different problems exist. It is important to understand what kind of symptoms the patient has, so that solutions can be created. Since our client is having trouble keeping his balance while standing up and moving his leg muscles, a number of solutions regarding those specific symptoms were looked into. To improve the user’s balance and straight posture, we decided to research existing exoskeletons and tools for muscle improvement.

Therefore after conducting an analysis on existing solutions, we had obtained an optimal idea of the direction our group has to explore to create a product that satisfies clients needs.
In the pictures below a number of different solutions to provide more stability are shown. For example: standing stools, exoskeletons and a support to lean on to. The standing stools and support to lean on to are mostly to put less weight on his knees. The exoskeleton is mostly for stabilizing his knees and legs.

Exoskeleton

We also did a small brainstorming session on different solutions for mechanisms for the horse and bike position. These sketches can be found in appendix 4.

Weight support

In the sketches below solutions were generated that are based on a horse saddle, this would put him in the horseriding position. The saddle would support the participant’s weight which would allow him to stretch his leg in a stable position.

In the drawing below a similar idea to the horse saddle can be found. However, this idea is more like crutches. The crutches could be attached to the legs which could support his legs and keep them in horse position.

In the sketches below some other ideas can be seen. In the first sketch a support from behind is drawn. This support would rest on the ground and would support the person’s weight. The person can either sit on the support or use it while standing up. When standing up the support can be rotated which eventually can be used to lean on to.

In the drawing below a support around his hips can be seen that is attached with a sliding mechanism to a standing table. The person can lean on to the support which will support his weight and prevent him from losing stability.

In the following sketches some solutions like a standing chair and weight support can be seen. The saddle of the standing chair would be similar to a bicycle chair.