Team Members & Role:

• Team Lead – Zachary Delguidice
• Analysis Lead – Gianni Soler
• Design Lead – Jacob Talmer
• Fabrication Lead – Michael Quinlan
• Evaluation Lead – Carter Matthews

Abstract:
As it stands, the industry of specialized equipment to help accommodate mobility-impaired individuals such as paraplegics is poorly designed and does not meet the needs of the demographic it is aiming to help. Many people that struggle with physical ailments such as this are already bogged down with medical bills and their cost of living is much greater than the typical person. Because of this, there is not as much money to be made for engineers in this underfunded and underdeveloped industry. Bathing is an essential task for all people, however, and can be much more difficult and taxing on someone struggling with impaired mobility as the current seats on the market overlook crucial design flaws that compromise usability or affordability. After gathering information about the problem from an occupational therapist, we aimed to create an approach that solved these current shortcomings through a modified tub seat design centered around human factors engineering that prioritizes safety and accessibility for the user. Our design features modifications such as ergonomic seat cutouts of sanitary materials and a tray for equipment with a mount for the shower head to reduce the necessary range of motion for the user. This design was found to increase the accessibility and comfort of the seat in use while maintaining the baseline requirements for strength and safety.