A device for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients, the brain child of two engineering students from SSN Institute, is now under validation at National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with multiple disabilities (NIEPMD), Muttukadu and The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu, Taramani.
Chennai:
The young science enthusiasts have developed a low-cost and light-weight support system for the patients, who suffer from ALS – a progressive, degenerative, fatal neuromuscular disease which affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
The new device is not just durable and portable but also helps in countering problems of the existing products in the market.
Developed by Viswanath S and Praveen Kumar from Department of Biomedical Engineering at SSN institute, the two students were guided by Assistant Professor M Dhanalakshmi. “The device has a three-way support system to arrest the head-movements such as flexion, extension and rotation with better efficiency than the currently available designs,” explained Dhanalakshmi.
The product has been tested for the supporting bars under various conditions such as high temperature, force deplumation and stress analysis to understand the load distribution on support systems. SSN Institution has also applied for patent rights for this product.
The project that was started in 2016, has been funded by SSN as part of its Stimulating Technological Innovations and Research among Students (STIRS) scheme with a seed money of Rs 25,000. “The product is made of aluminium and weighs only 800 grams. It costs Rs 1000,” the assistant professor said.