Wheelchair/Walker Hybrid
By Berardi, Cory; Coffey, Daniel; Mollendorf, Joseph C.; NSF 2007 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 136-137Publication Date: 2010
Description of a mobility aid that transforms from a walker to a wheelchair and vice versa. The Wheelchair/Walker Hybrid was designed by engineering students at the State University of New York at Buffalo to help people with lower limb disabilities to travel short distances without assistance. Users can operate the device as a walker to exercise their legs until they get tired, and then easily convert the aid into a wheelchair. The device was constructed by making several modifications to an existing rollator, a walker with a seat: (1) the rear casters were replaced with two 20 inch wheelchair wheels mounted onto the rollator frame using aluminum block clamps, (2) the brakes from the front casters were removed and fastened onto the wheelchair wheels with U-bolts, (3) the original rear caster wheels were then mounted on the front of the rollator through the use of an aluminum adapter piece, and (4) the original seat was replaced by a wheelchair seat donated by a surgical supply company. Final cost of the project was 174 dollars.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2007/Chapter11,SUNY%20Buffalo.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-12-6
