February 9 2007 COURSE INFO Lecturers Amos Winter Graduate Student Mechanical Engineering Amy Smith Senior Lecturer Mechanical Engineering Units 2 2 2 Lecture Lab Homework Lecture Required can miss two but not more without instructor permission Lab Presentation times chosen next class Lab groups choose own time Homework Primarily readings and short assignments Most time for projects Grading Final course grades will be P D F Class Participation homework 15 Strategy presentation 20 Concept presentation 20 Most Critical Module MCM Presentation 20 Final presentation and prototype 25 Course website http web mit edu sp 784 www index html February 9 2007 PROJECT Team 4 to 5 members with lab instructor Collaboration Partnership between MIT students US and European experts and African wheelchair technicians Deliverables PowerPoint presentation for the Strategy Concept MCM and Final prototype Poster for The Museum of Science in Boston on Sat May 12 Prototypes Physical solution to each teams MCM for MCM presentation Working prototype for final presentation February 9 2007 RESOURCES Monetary 2000 for prototyping IDEAS Grants Generator dinner Feb 13 Manufacturing MIT Foundry Parts African wheelchairs and bicycle components Storage Currently room 3 446 Combination is 5 3 4 February 9 2007 FELLOWSHIPS 3 to 6 available Bring WDDC technology back to African workshops Work in any or all 7 partner shops 10 weeks Apply through PSC Fellowship process February 9 2007 SYLLABUS Week Lecture date Wheelchair topics 1 2 9 2007 Introduction to wheelchairs in developing countries 2 2 16 2007 Designing wheelchairs for the developing world 2 23 2007 Wheelchair Biomechanics Ergonomics 3 3 2 2007 Abdullah speaking to the class about his experiences 4 3 9 2007 Appropriate Technology 5 6 3 16 2007 Available materials and manufacturing techniques in 3 23 2007 Successful implementation of technology in developing 7 3 30 2007 Spring Break 8 9 4 6 2007 Machine Design 10 4 13 2007 Business plans in the developing world 11 4 20 2007 Ralf speaking to the class about his experiences 12 4 27 2007 Wheelchair user image 5 4 2007 Project work 13 5 11 2007 Project work 14 15 5 18 2007 Project work Guest lecturer Alison Hynd PSC Fellowships Abdullah Munish TATCOT Amy Smith MIT Prof Mary Boyce Mike Tarkanian Sarah Bird Amy Banzaert MIT Prof David Gordon Wilson MIT Jorge Barrera MIT Ralf Hotchkiss Whirlwind Prof David Wallace MIT Principle areas of lectures Engineering Business Biomechanics Local considerations February 9 2007 MOTIVATION World s disabled The World Bank and other authorities estimate that there are as many as 600 million persons with disabilities around the world making them one of the largest minority groups of unserved marginalised people UNESCO Bangkok About 600 million people in the world experience disabilities of various types 80 of the world s disabled people live in lowincome countries the majority of them are poor and do not have access to basic services including rehabilitation facilities World Health Organization Between 20 and 50 million people globally are estimated to be injured or disabled in road traffic accidents each year World Health Organization 2004 Close to ten million severely or moderately disabled people are added each year to the total global figure or about 25 000 every day Helander 1999 70 of disabled people in developing countries are estimated to live in rural areas Groce 1999 Statistics provided by Motivation UK February 9 2007 MOTIVATION Need for wheelchairs The WHO and Pan American Health Organisation PAHO estimate that only 1 3 of people with disabilities in the South who require rehab services have access to them Helander 1999 Most people who sustain a spinal cord injury in the South die within two years compared to a normal life expectancy in the North Werner 1998 Conservative estimates put the number of people with disabilities in developing countries at close to half a billion Of these an estimated 20 million require wheelchairs to be mobile United States Agency for International Development 2003 An estimated 95 of people who need a wheelchair don t have one Werner 1998 Below 1 of the need for wheelchairs in Africa is being met through local production United Nations Development Project 2002 Statistics provided by Motivation UK February 9 2007 MOTIVATION Consequences due to lack of mobility Disability is both a cause and a consequence of poverty Eliminating world poverty is unlikely to be achieved unless the rights and needs of people with disabilities is taken into account UK Department of International Development In Tanzania households with disabled members are 20 more likely to be living in poverty UK Department of International Development 2005 98 of children with disabilities in developing countries do not attend school Earlier studies by UNESCAP and UNICEF show that this deplorable condition also applies to the Asia Pacific region where only around 2 of children with disabilities one in every fifty children have access to education of any sort UNESCO Bangkok Worldwide only 2 of disabled children get any schooling Action on Disability and Development 2006 Men women and children who are discriminated against often end up excluded from society the economy and political participation They are more likely to be poor UK Department of International Development 2005 Women and girls with disabilities face double discrimination based on disability and gender As a group they fare far worse than nondisabled women or disabled men on most indicators of financial educational and vocational success Mobility International USA 2002 Statistics provided by Motivation UK February 9 2007 MY INVOLVEMENT IN WHEELCHAIR TECHNOLOGY Summer 2005 Assessment of WC technology in Tanzania Parties interviewed Supervision organizations Tanzanian Training Center for Orthopedic Technologists Moshi TZ Wheelchair users Whirlwind Wheelchair International San Francisco USA Interview locations Wheelchair workshops Wheelchair advocacy groups February 9 2007 TZ WHEELCHAIR ASSESSMENT Identified usage problems 45 Currently made WC s 40 WC Foundation of interviewees 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 Contributed to current WC trike Could contribute now to new WC trike How much current WC trike cost 0 0US 0 to 49US 50 to 99US 100 to 149US Largest donor in TZ 150 to 199US 200 to 249US 250 to 299US 300US N A 100 to 150 price gap between what chairs cost and what people can afford Most people rely on donations to acquire a