Category: Positioning Seats General

Device To Enable An Individual To Feed Himself


CUSTOM ADAPTATION PURPOSE: To enable an individual with neurological disabilities to eat independently. This chair has an armrest for the user's right arm made from U-shaped PVC half-pipe.The armrest is attached to an outer sleeve that moves up and down a central steel post attached to the chair platform. A cast-iron window weight acts as a counter weight to render the user's arm weightless. A foot pedal connected to a system of pulleys and levers underneath the chair platform raises the user's arm from the table to his mouth. The armrest turns through a 20-degree arc as it approaches the user's mouth, eliminating the need for bending forward. To achieve the arc, a spiral groove was cut into the outer sleeve, and a steel stud with a post was fixed to the central post. When the outer tube reaches the correct height, the stud slots into the spiral and the outer tube turns over the armrest toward the user's mouth. The user can hold a spoon using a wooden handle in which the spoon is inserted, enabling the user to more easily grasp and turn it. DIMENSIONS: The U-shaped PVC half-pipe is 90 millimeters (mm) in diameter. The arm travel is 250 mm. The steel stud is 6 mm and the steel post with the stud is 12 mm. TITLE: Well Fed. JOURNAL: TAD Journal. REF: Vol. 21 no. 2, Winter 2001: p. 11. PAGES (including cover): 2 2001.


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Technical Aid To The Disabled (TAD)
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Therapeutic Aids