Problem

11% of the United States elder population, 65 years and older, are diagnosed with dementia. Sometimes these patients can go into a state of aggression, due to agitation, which can lead to violence towards themselves or their caregiver. What is currently on the market to help relieve patients of their agitation mainly consists of pharmaceutical drugs and advanced wheelchairs. Some patients can not move on their own, so they stay in the wheelchair all day. With the wheelchairs currently on the market, patients can experience discomfort, due to lack of durability.

Solution

A wheelchair was created to soothe dementia patients, non-pharmaceutically. I decided to research wheelchairs utilized for dementia patients. After I looked at what was on the market, I decided to design a wheelchair that would help to maximize their comfort level. For my thesis I created a wheelchair that will be equipped with musical therapy, automated rocking, and increased comfort levels. I wanted to add these features to the wheelchair because in my research, I learned that the brain of dementia patients seem to regress in life. Therefore, I decided to try and mimic ways in which people sooth babies when they get irritated.