This study proposes a novel standing mobility device aimed at supporting and assisting people with disabled lower limbs. The developed mobility device is capable of assisting voluntary postural transition between standing and sitting by a passive exoskeleton equipped with gas springs, in addition to providing wheeled locomotion in a standing posture using two in-wheel motors. The device allows voluntary natural assisted sit-to-stand motions. Furthermore, it can be operated in the standing posture without using hands. This paper describes the development and assessment of the standing mobility device as well as a pilot study conducted with a person with spinal cord injury. Then, investigation of the mechanical characteristics of the device is presented for further analysis of sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfer assistance.

This paper describes a novel stair-climbing wheelchair operated by human upper body using lever propelled rotary-legs with posture transition mechanism. The design principle of this wheelchair is to make use of the user's latent upper body capability, with appropriate mechanisms to enable extended functionality of the regular wheelchair without the need of heavy, expensive mechanisms or electric motors. An arm-operated mechanism allows the user to overcome steps and stairs independently without any external power source. The developed wheelchair consists of manual wheels with casters for planar locomotion, which provides capabilities equivalent to a regular manual wheelchair. In addition, the wheelchair has a rotary-legs mechanism based on lever propulsion control for climbing stairs. It also has a passive mechanism powered by gas springs for posture transition to shift the user's center of gravity between two positions for planar locomotion and for stair-climbing. The proposed design consists of only passive components, which makes the wheelchair more compact and lightweight. In this paper we describe in detail the development of this wheelchair and an investigation of how users can climb stairs independently. We also present evaluation experiments with a healthy participant and a dummy to investigate the feasibility of the proposed design.

Background: Standing has medical and psychosocial benefits for people with lower limb impairments; however, systemic, logistical, and economic barriers often limit opportunities to stand in daily life. This study explored how users perceive standing and standing-assistive technologies. Methods: This study used a mixed-methods approach: in-person interviews (n = 18) and a nationwide web-based survey (n = 125; 74.4% male, mean age 52.2 ± 13.9 years, diagnoses: spinal cord injury 37.6%, cerebrovascular disease 27.2%, and cerebral palsy 16.8%). Results: Participants described the psychosocial values of standing, such as feeling more confident and being able to interact with others at eye level. The web survey revealed that most participants believed that standing was beneficial for health (76.8%) and task efficiency (76.0%), although only 49.6% showed an interest in standing wheelchairs. The multivariate analysis revealed that ongoing standing training was the strongest predictor of positive perceptions of health benefits, task efficiency, and interest in standing wheelchairs. Younger participants showed a greater interest in standing wheelchairs. The reported barriers include a lack of awareness, high costs, and difficulty in accessing training. Conclusions: These findings suggest the need for a user-centered design and improved support systems to integrate standing into the daily lives of people with mobility impairments.