Walking towards mobility

If we live to be old enough, sooner or later, we’ll all lose our aptitude for walking. To help ease the sting of limited mobility there are, of course, tools to help us through. For those who aren’t completely wheelchair-bound, there are walkers. However, those who are familiar with them know that walkers aren’t as user-friendly and helpful as the casual observer would assume. In fact, many senior citizens actually fall to the ground despite having their walkers by their sides.

The Informa Healthcare website states that more than 1.5 million people use walkers in the US alone. In the University at Buffalo Consumer Assessments Study, subjects experienced trouble with the walkers and 57% of the walkers were classified as “difficult and/or dangerous.”

Psychiatrist Dr. Eli Einbinder understood that such faults with common walkers existed and set out to improve their function. Working with Cornell professor of engineering David Lipson and  Cornell students, Einbinder worked to create a safer, more efficient walker.

It took graduate students, Einbinder, and Lipson years to come up with a new and improved design: the “Smart Walker.”

The Smart Walker differs from ordinary walkers in that it has sensors on the handgrips. It begins in a stationary position, and with a person’s hands on the electronic button sensors, the walker is able to be pushed along with ease. However, as soon as the walker “senses” that the person has taken their hands off, it reverts back to the braked position. This happens when a microprocessor works with the button to launch data to a linear actuator. The device also has automatic brakes if someone suddenly grabs the hand grips.

Not only does this new design help prevent the elderly from falling, but as the June 24, 2010, article of the Cornell Chronicle states, “It can further reduce injury among the elderly by encouraging a more active lifestyle.”

The new invention will no doubt prove to be helpful for the mobility impaired, but it has also been beneficial for the Cornell students who worked on its design. Professor Lipson talks of the educational venture as being “[…] a terrific project because the students could look at many designs, with improvements in the subsequent years by a new team.” There is little doubt that with the Smart Walker, the elderly will soon be walking towards mobility.