Building mobility chairs for toddlers
Tulane students help some special-needs children get rolling
NEW ORLEANS — At 19 months old, Elijah Jack, born with no femur bone in one leg and a short femur in the other, is unable to walk on his own like most toddlers his age. Another 19-monthold, Freya Baudoin, born prematurely at 28 weeks and delayed in her mobility, has finally taken her first step.
Special-needs children like these often take longer than most to become independently mobile, which can be a hardship for parents and others who care for them. Elijah is often carried because of his limb difference and clubfeet, meaning that instead of being straight, his feet are twisted inward and his toes point downward.
As a result, getting around on his own is a challenge.
That was until this past spring.
Elijah was one of the first recipients of a specially designed rolling chair built by a team of biomedical engineering students at Tulane University. Today, Elijah has mastered getting around on wheels — turning, stopping and steering all on his own.
“He loves his chair,” said Crystal Jack, Elijah’s mom. “So, I get a lot of things done because I know in his chair, he’s safe. He knows how to go around the house with it and everything, so I get a lot of things done now.”
Before the chair, Jack said her son was able to scoot on the floor to get where he needed to go but the chair offers a new level of independence.
“Like I said, we come a long way, but I’m blessed to have him,” Jack said, smiling warmly as he moved back and forth around the living
room of her mother’s home in Ventress, Louisiana.
The Tulane students partnered with the nonprofit MakeGood in 2022 to design and produce the chairs to help toddlers (roughly ages
1 to 4) build independence and strength, and for some, prepare for a real wheelchair. While it remains difficult to access precise numbers for total wheelchair use among children,
there were about 2.8 million wheelchair users in the U.S. in 2002, of whom 121,000 were under 15 years of age, according to the U.S. Census.
MakeGood is the New Orleans-area coordinator for TOM Global, an Israeli nonprofit that combines modern design and digital manufacturing to fulfill neglected needs of people with disabilities and limitations. TOM stands for Tikkun Olam, which is Hebrew for “repairing the world.”
The students partnered with the nonprofits as part of a service-learning project — a graduation requirement at Tulane. But many say they had no idea when the project started the depth of impact their chairs would make in the lives of children in the community.
Dylan Lucia, a graduate student at Tulane from the San Diego, California, area, said he chose the field of biomedical engineering to help people.
“Seeing that direct kind of patient feedback and seeing how much these (chairs) were improving their lives and helping them become a more independent person, even as a small toddler ... like, it was really, really endearing to see something like that and to see the positive change,” Lucia said.
The chairs are helpful for families whose children will eventually need wheelchairs.
Noam Platt, director of MakeGood, said insurance companies typically don’t cover the cost of a wheelchair for a child unless there is sufficient evidence that the child can use it effectively.
“These devices are used to create that evidence that their quality of life will be improved so they can get maybe a more durable assistive technology,” Platt said.
The chairs are made at Tulane’s Scot Ackerman
MakerSpace, a workshop with laser cutters, 3D printers, and drilling and sewing equipment.
Platt said the mobility chairs’ original design and plans came from TOM Global but the parts were purchased in the U.S. or made and then assembled at Tulane. The wood panels used for the chair’s frame were laser cut and sanded down by students to buff out any splinters and rough edges. Padded seats were stuffed into fabric cushions sewn by students. Wheels were purchased online and then screwed into place.
Elijah has had his chair since the end of March. It was made in the first batch of about 10 chairs delivered to pediatric patients for use in occupational and physical therapy sessions.
“His chair shows him that, like, ‘I could be up like other children.’ You know, he don’t let his (being) disabled get in the way,” said Jack, who added Elijah will likely need some type of mobility assistance for the rest of his life.
Bumpers were added to the bottom front of the most recent batch of chairs after parents from the first round said their furniture — and feet — were taking hits as their children became better and faster at using their chairs.
Platt said there have been two rounds of chair building and 15 chairs have been given away. But, he said they’re aiming for at least 10 to 15 more by spring 2024.
“We coordinate with our clinical partners to find kids that would be a good fit for these devices,” he said.
Platt said the chairs cost less than $200 each to make, and even though these chairs were donated to patients at no cost, the price is still much lower than most pediatric wheelchairs; electric-powered wheelchairs can run into the thousands.
“For the students that I work with, I tell them this is just the beginning,” Platt said.