SBIR Phase I: Robot-Assisted Patient Transfer and Rehabilitation Device

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project, Robot-Assisted Patient Transfer and Rehabilitation Device, is to develop a device that provides institutional and home patients of limited mobility with a means to accomplish several important tasks for daily living. Several promising concepts that exploit robotics technology have been identified that may prove more effective than currently available transfer devices for both patients and caregivers. The proposers will conduct clinician-guided research & development activities to evaluate and further develop these robotic approaches to the bed transfer problem and arrive at a medically sound, operationally robust and cost-effective concept for incorporation into a multi-functional mobility device for institutional or home settings. The device concept(s) emerging from the effort will be evaluated by nursing professionals to determine the most useful and feasible combination of functions in a single apparatus. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will benefit civilian and military healthcare systems. In the civilian sector as well as the military, the aging of the baby-boom generation and the rising body mass of the average patient is contributing to increased demand for the proposed device. Furthermore, existing patient transfer methods result in more than 200,000 nurse and caregiver injuries costing approximately $1 billion per year in the US. The influx of injured veterans returning from the Middle East is a clear impetus to the development and introduction of new patient handling devices, as many of these veterans will be in need of mobility and/or nursing assistance for years to come. The proposed robot-assisted patient transfer and rehabilitation device can be used in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physical therapy, nursing homes, and private home care. The device will significantly improve the patient quality of life while reducing nurse and caregiver injuries.