University of South Florida faculty member Merry Lynn Morris is the academic advisor for the School of Theater and Dance. She initiated the idea of developing a hands free "dancing" wheelchair to increase mobility in disabled individuals and the collaboration involves the USF Department of Mechanical Engineering. Morris was inspired to create the chair after years of caring for her severely disabled father; William Morris was critically injured in a car accident and spent 21 years in traditional hand-operated wheelchairs. The hands free wheelchair (originally called the "Rolling Dance Chair) recently was granted a patent from the US Patents and Trademarks Office. Unlike wheelchairs that use only a joystick to move them, the movement of the seat in the hands free wheelchair creates electrical signals, which are transmitted to the wheelchair controller. The chair also possesses a switch, which allows a user to switch from seat control to a hand control as needed. For now, the hands free wheelchair is designed for people who have good core muscle strength and do not have injuries high on their spinal cord. The current research team which includes Morris, Kathryn DeLaurentis, research coordinator at USF's Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology and undergraduate students at the USF College of Engineering, are now building a second prototype of the chair with more advanced features. The new prototype of the chair will be able to accommodate the individual needs of ...
Orignal From: Merry Lynn Morris Honors Dad With Hands-Free Wheelchair Invention
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