Design and Analysis of Adjustable Headrest for Total Body Involvement Cerebral Palsy
Siti Rasyidah Hamzah1, Nor Aiman Nor Izmin2, Giha Tardan3, Abdul Halim Abdullah4
1Siti Rasyidah Hamzah Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
2Nor Aiman Nor Izmin, Hamzah Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
3Giha Tardan, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
4Abdul Halim Abdullah Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Manuscript received on 05 April 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 11 May 2019 | Manuscript published on 30 May 2019 | PP: 3208-3211 | Volume-8 Issue-1, May 2019 | Retrieval Number: A1482058119/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Cerebral palsy children especially those with total body involvement cerebral palsy (TBICP), use a wheelchair with headrest attachment all the time. Headrest is used to provide support and positioning of the head and neck of the user. In the matter of positioning and posture of the total body involvement cerebral palsy patient, there seem to be a few lacking with the current wheelchair in the market. The overall problem concerning this task including the head and neck alignment, head control technique and safety are identified. Gathering information and analysing is used to find the best method to overcome these problems. After thorough research, the major problem is identified and focused to develop the headrest design. The objective of this research is to introduce a new device which is the adjustable headrest for TBICP. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) such as Solidworks is used to assist in designing the device. Analysis is performed to determine the best thickness of the headrest when the user leans on it, effect towards model when a different load is applied on it and effect of load toward device at a different angle of headrest position. All the analysis is determined by using Finite Element Model (FEA). The device is fabricated by 3D printing using polylactic acid, (PLA) as the filament.
Index Terms: Total Body Involvement Cerebral Palsy; Adjustable Headrest; Finite Element Analysis; 3D Printing; Polyactic Acid.

Scope of the Article: 3D Printing