PAT+

Problem Statement

Americans who sit in a “slouched” position (hip and femur angle greater than 90 degrees) for longer than 60 consecutive minutes, experience deterioration of the hip flexor muscles and reduced blood flow to the spinal ligaments and gluteus maximus, causing lower back pain.

Market Research

Current products on the market include wearable and non-wearable devices.

Many of these products are either too expensive, uncomfortable, or do not address the issue of lower back pain while siting down.

Criteria

Function

The user must be able to maintain a healthy back posture with a hip and femur angle not falling under 60 degrees or exceeding 120 degrees

Durability

The device must not deform more than 2% with 437 Newtons of force applied on the object (approximately the force of a human falling on an object)

Weight

The weight of the device must not exceed one pound to provide user with the most comfort experience without having to feel the weight of the device

Volume

The volume of the product cannot exceed 120 centimeters cubed in-order for the device to be portable or cause any restrictions to the user's movement

Brainstorming Solutions

My team brainstormed a variety of solutions ranging from wearable to non-wearable products and evaluated them in a decision matrix

Final Solution

The final design consists of two parts: The Alert Strip (Slide 1) and Alert Case (Slide 2)
The Alert strip will consist of an adhesive that will stick on the user's lumbar curve while a sensor detects the angle of posture
The Alert Case will send a vibration to the user to notify when they are slouching

Prototype

My design team constructed and tested a working prototype of the final solution

Alert Case

The case is powered by two double A batteries. A AtMega48 mirocontroller is used to run the code to all the outputs on the Printed Circuit Board. To activate the system the user just has to turn on the switch

Accelerometer

The sensor used to detect hip and femur angle is an ADXL345 accelerometer that can programmed to measure degrees on the X,Y, and Z axis

Demonstration

The following is a demonstration of how a user would use the PAT+ during an average work day.

Cost

The cost to produce one unit of the PAT+ is $26.45.
With a 125% mark-up ,the PAT+ can be sold at a retail price of $60
Compared to competitors on the market, the PAT+ costs less than half the average retail price

Unique Value Proposition

The PAT + is a discrete, nonrestrictive posture correcting aid

Discrete

Non-Restrictive