Design and analysis of adjustable headrest for total body involvement cerebral palsy

Abstract

Cerebral palsy children especially those with total body involvement cerebral palsy (TBICP), use a wheelchair with headrest attachment all the time. Headrest is used to provide support and positioning of the head and neck of the user. In the matter of positioning and posture of the total body involvement cerebral palsy patient, there seem to be a few lacking with the current wheelchair in the market. The overall problem concerning this task including the head and neck alignment, head control technique and safety are identified. Gathering information and analysing is used to find the best method to overcome these problems. After thorough research, the major problem is identified and focused to develop the headrest design. The objective of this research is to introduce a new device which is the adjustable headrest for TBICP. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) such as Solidworks is used to assist in designing the device. Analysis is performed to determine the best thickness of the headrest when the user leans on it, effect towards model when a different load is applied on it and effect of load toward device at a different angle of headrest position. All the analysis is determined by using Finite Element Model (FEA). The device is fabricated by 3D printing using polylactic acid, (PLA) as the filament.