The Maker’s program was contacted by a local occupational therapist (OT) about creating a pulley system for their patient, Bill, to enhance his ability to self-feed during meals. One of Bill’s therapy goals focused on self-eating as a primary need. A manufactured, floor pulley system was incorporated during therapy sessions within the clinic, but Bill still required some assistance to fully bring his eating utensil to his mouth.
After meeting with Bill and his OT, it was determined that he would also like to use the pulley system outside of his home environment during mealtimes with friends and family if possible. The Maker’s program was inspired by the device used during therapy and quickly set out on creating a version that would attach to Bill’s power wheelchair. This type of model would allow Bill to use the device at home or travel with it elsewhere with a quick breakdown and setup by his wife.
The Makers program created a few prototypes during the fabrication phase and completed trial runs with the occupational therapy practitioner, assuring the device works as expected. The main body of the pulley was made with aluminum conduit covered in PVC for safety. Special 3D-printed brackets were used to account for the unique angles present. Once the device was installed on the individual’s chair, the individual’s arm was weighed to determine a proper counterweight for the pulley system, allowing weight adjustment as needed with help from his wife.
The final product was loaned to Bill for home trial, and two weeks later a follow up was provided assuring no further modifications are needed. Before the mobile pulley system was fabricated for Bill, he required assistance to feed himself from his wife using an arm support clamp, trough, and angled, adapted eating utensils. Now, Bill states “I ate ham and chunks of orange with a regular table fork and the device you geniuses modeled for me. It turned out fairly well, and I was happy”.
