Symphony Solutions

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

  • Larissa is seated in a black wheelchair with her arms in the center. She is wearing all black. She has a bright smile. Her partner Shayna embraces her from behind also wearing all black and wearing a bright smile.
  • Alt Text: Larissa seated in the front in a wheelchair and Shayna, her wife, leans over her shoulder and hugs her. Both women are wearing all black and smiling. 
  • Description of Project: This semester the team worked on regaining motion of Larissa’s left arm with is affected by multiple sclerosis. We researched soft robotics and exoskeletons as devices to amplify movement left in her arm. Ultimately we decided to go the route of rehabilitation which included providing exercises recommended by an OT and designing an overhead sling that would be able to reduce the weight of Larissa’s arm in order to allow her to regain mobility. 
  • Description of project team name:
  • Symphony Solutions: We initially thought the assistive technology we would be making over the semester would be something related to adapting Larissa’s DJ equipment so Herui and Bella signed up excited as both of them are musicians. The more pressing need became tangential to DJ equipment but we thought the fun musical alliteration would be fitting regardless. 

GROUP INFORMATION 

  • Group Members: Larissa, Shayna*, Herui, and Bella*
  • * indicates main points of contact 
  • Project Mentor(s): Amy, Anita, and Dylan Zhu. 
  • Meeting times: Not set in stone but roughly weekly as a whole team. Evenings. 

OVERVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS 

  • Monday October 2, 2023: First meeting as a group! We all got to meet each other, get to know one another and get an overview of the needs that Larissa has.
  • Sunday October 22, 2023: Second team meeting. Herui and Bella presented weeks worth of research of soft robotics, clinical research in Chicago area, robotic arms, and rehabilitation devices. Entire group came to a conclusion about what the semester project and assistive device will be. 
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