Imagine the discomfort of people bound to wheelchairs for a long duration. They are unable to stand without assistance and therefore, do not adopt the standing position as frequently as they wish to. Being in a seated position for a long time leads to other health problems like poor blood circulation and pressure sores. Now, they can heave a sigh of relief as IIT Madras has invented a wheelchair that will help them to stand on their own.

IIT Madras in collaboration with Phoenix Medical Systems has launched India’s first indigenously designed standing wheelchair which enables a differently-abled person to shift to a standing position without any assistance and in a controlled manner. Called ‘Arise’ the standing wheelchair was launched at IIT Madras Research Park in the presence of Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, researchers, students, staff and faculty of IIT Madras.

Standing Function

Arise is designed in such a way that the user when seated, can actuate it to standing position by the power of his/her arms. With optimal one-time fitting, the effort required is no more than that required to propel the wheelchair. A gas-spring was a key element in reducing the effort expended by the user. The prototype was first tested by able-bodied persons.

Safety Features

Many safety features have been incorporated into Arise which includes the interlocking mechanism. This mechanism ensures that the wheelchair remains in a locked state even if the knee block is not in position. The dimensions of Arise were made adjustable and adequate safety features were incorporated. To ensure that the device would be rugged and of high quality, rigorous mechanical testing was done.

This wheelchair will be a boon to differently-abled persons who use a wheelchair as they will have the ability to stand on their own at their will without any assistance from others.

Image Source: Inceptive Mind

Video Courtesy: Tech Tak