PROJETO CENTRADO NO USUÁRIO: EXPERIÊNCIA DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DE UMA ÓRTESE DE MEMBRO SUPERIOR

Abstract

The field of product development for people with disabilities still offers a lot of space for the exploration and creation of new technologies and processes. Thus, this project is in addition to assistive product development studies by aiming the production of a superior limb orthosis to meet the specific needs of a child with spastic hemiplegia. The User Centered Design (UCD) was adopted as a product development approach; all product decisions were guided by the needs of the user, and also the expectations of the parents and the evaluation of the child's physiotherapist were taken into account. The development of the project was divided into three major stages. First, the needs and requirements of the user were identified, then the ideas were elaborated according to the identified conditions and, finally, prototypes were developed to understand the real interaction of the system with the user. The prototypes were produced through additive manufacturing, which facilitated the visualization of possible improvement points and ensured a functional final product. The orthosis delivered to the user has a mechanism that exerts a force contrary to the spasticity‟s tension force, so that the user's pulse can find itself in a neutral position. In addition, the orthosis allows the movement of the wrist, offering different levels of tension so that the muscles can be exercised. The choice of the mode of production by additive manufacture and the use of simple materials allows the reproduction of the orthosis in case it breaks or gets lost.