Design and Development of a Wheel Chair Based Manual Self-Transfer Device for Elderly and Disabled

A novel and frugal self-transfer device has been developed for transferring a user, with disabilities in lower limbs, from a wheel chair to a toilet commode or any other surface. The device does not require any external power for the transfer operation, as it utilizes the available physical strength of the upper body of the user. It is designed to raise the user, turn, and place on top of a toilet seat. Lockable gas springs are employed for raising, while a turntable with epicyclic gear train facilitates rotary transfer. Trials were carried out to optimize the ergonomic aspects of the design. Overall acceptability of the system has also been studied, and the results show that the device is capable of transferring a subject from a wheel chair to another surface with less effort.