• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.71-76
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• 2010

Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the effect of a Rollator on plantar pressure and foot balance during gait in older adults. Methods: Twenty consecutive subjects (8 men, 12 women; age: $69.9{\pm}8.9$) had the following measurements done: plantar pressure in 10 areas of the foot, foot balance including heel rotation, foot balance, forefoot balance, medial forefoot balance, and meta loading during gait with or without a Rollator. Results: Significant differences in plantar pressure were observed in the areas of toes 2-5 or etatarsal areas 1, 4, 5 during gait with and without a Rollator. There were no significant differences in other areas of the foot. Regarding foot balance during gait with or without a Rollator, there were statistically significant differences in heel rotation, forefoot balance, medial forefoot balance, and meta loading. Conclusion: For older adults, the use of a Rollator can decrease plantar pressure and increase foot balance in various foot areas.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.487-497
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• 2014

Objective: This study aims to develop and evaluate a multi-purpose rollator, which may be used as a seat, as a traditional walker, or as a storage basket for elderly farmers. Background: The rollators on the market are not user-friendly designed and seen inconvenient for elderly farmers to use, although they are sold at considerably high price. Since they lack enough space to load stuffs and are not durable or stable enough, they do not seem to be suitable for elderly farmers to use in rural areas. Method: Two types of methods were used in this study. First, the survey consisted of 19 questions was conducted among elderly farmers in rural areas, after using the developed rollator, to evaluate the usability of the rollator developed in this study. Second, EMG experiment was conducted to compare the existing rollator and developed rollator quantitatively. Through this experiment, we tried to verify the differences of muscle responses, when using the traditional and the developed ones, which have their own brake system, in the ramp. Results: The developed rollator was highly evaluated in most of the questions in the usability survey, except for the 'Weight' category in which the opinions were divided into three different types (Worse: 31%, Similar: 30%, Better: 36%). The result of EMG experiment showed that the existing rollator (7.4%MVC) demands more muscle strength than the developed rollator (5.5%MVC) does. By statistically analyzing the results of upper limb and lower limb respectively, we found out that all the muscles except deltoid in upper limb showed statistically significant differences in muscle activity when using the existing and the developed rollator. However, there was no statistical difference in lower limb muscles. Conclusion: The developed rollator in this study has maximized the functionality of the brake system, the storage and the chair, which were pointed out as the weaknesses of existing rollators. Furthermore, the developed rollator is designed to be more user-friendly, safe, durable, and effective for elderly farmers to use in rural areas, where roads are rough and bumpy. Application: We expect that the emergency brake system developed in this study would be utilized for other convenience equipment, such as strollers and carts, and that it would be able to develop and produce more secure and reliable equipment in the future.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.327-336
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• 2012

Objective: The purpose of this study is to find the problems of stability when people use the bassinet as an ambulatory aid for old people. Background: Many aged people use a bassinet as ambulatory aid. But the safety of using the bassinet as ambulatory aid has not been verified yet. Method: The 13 university-students who don't have musculoskeletal disorders volunteered to participate in this study. According to structural analysis of the both tools, we compared the structural stability of an outdoor rollator with the structural stability of a bassinet. And when the participants walked using both tools, the motions were captured and analysed. We measured the angle of shoulder joint and the angle of trunk from the ground when the participants were walking. And we found the distance from participants' pressure cone apex and greater trochanter. Results: Following the structural analysis, the bassinet has the lower structural stability than the outdoor rollator. When the people used the bassinet as ambulatory aid, the angle of the shoulder joint was bigger than to use the outdoor rollator. The angle of trunk wasn't different between the outdoor rollator and the bassinet. And distance from pressure cone apex to greater trochanter was far to use the bassinet than to use the outdoor rollator. Conclusion: Through the structure analysis and gait analysis of the bassinet and the outdoor rollator, we can be aware of that the bassinet has problem of stability. Therefore the people who use the bassinet as an ambulatory aid, especially supporting body weight, may be hurt due to the problems of stability. Application: This research can be used for developing a study of the ambulatory aid and preventing the accident when the aged people use the ambulatory aid.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.385-390
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• 2021

This study aims to provide primary data for R&D on rollator-walking frame through researching the usability test of the rollator-walking frame and the effect of rollator-walking frames on the lives of senior citizens. This study surveyed 60 senior citizens living in Sungnam City in South Korea. As the result of the usability test, we can find users' dissatisfaction with the folding, weight, shape of backrest and material of chair. The survey shows that the frequency of outdoor activity is mostly increased by the convenience of product. However, the inconvenience while using facilities, such as elevators or public transportations, gave a significant impact on the decrease in going out experiences. Therefore, for better outside lifestyle of senior citizens, it is important to improve the function of the product, however, we need to make improvement of urban infrastructure.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.259-265
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• 2014

The aims of this study are to investigate the walking intention detection of a rollator based on Infraed (IR) sensor measuring knee joint anterior displacement and leg muscle activities. We used Active Walker attached IR sensor to measure the knee joint anterior displacement and EMG signal of leg muscles(rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius) were taken by Delsys bagnli-8ch. Subjects were eight healthy males(age $23.7{\pm}0.5years$, height $175.4{\pm}2.3cm$, weight $70.6{\pm}5.6kg$) and they were involved in experiments which had been proceeded 30 minutes a week, during 3 weeks. This system indicates that the knee joint anterior displacement had the distinction increases according to the gait slope and velocity. We showed the increase of the femoral muscle activities along the anterior tilt and the increase of the crural muscle activities along the posterior tilt.

• Journal of rehabilitation welfare engineering & assistive technology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.299-303
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• 2014

Demand of moving auxiliary equipment has increased recently to an increase in the elderly population. pedestrian demand is either moving auxiliary equipment are also increasing. regional migration, such as pedestrian and the elderly and patients is a device to support the sharing received walking the weight of inconvenient people. In this paper, by mounting the electric function to the current manual walking, to prepare the electric walking to support the user's walking. the design applies a lightweight folding structure so that it can be moved to a ride at long distances, were fabricated.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.325-335
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• 2024

Existing research on walking aids has primarily focused on functional improvements, often neglecting negative aspects such as physical injuries and psychological discomfort, which limits the elderly's active participation in outdoor activities. This study aims to analyze issues related to outdoor walking stemming from physical and psychological factors in the elderly and to propose design directions for walking aids that align with their preferences. In-depth interviews were conducted with 13 elderly individuals aged 65 and above who use rollators, from May 2024 to June 2024. The interviews were analyzed using a questionnaire based on psychological factors identified in previous studies and functional aspects, utilizing Universal Design principles. The five-stage design thinking model from d.school was employed for problem definition. Issues related to walking aids were identified and analyzed during the 'Empathize' and 'Define' stages. The findings highlight priorities such as maintaining proper posture, reducing vibration, improving ease of folding and speed control, and providing additional storage space without causing discomfort. The proposed design directions reflect the needs and aspirations derived from the actual experiences of elderly individuals. The study's findings are expected to contribute to the development of walking aids that enhance usability and confidence, thereby improving the quality of life for elderly individuals.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.161-168
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• 2020

This study is designed to develop a walker to assist the elderly in safe, independent walking. To this end, problems were identified through analysis of the walker for the elderly and user observations were used to identify problems and needs. The product analysis showed that most elderly walkers tend to prioritize their functions. In addition, user observations showed that most users had positive perceptions about the function, but that structural aspects, such as operation methods and stability, had negative consequences. A total of five design guidelines were derived based on the problems and needs derived. The design guidelines were designed to focus on improving structural problems rather than functional parts, and to orientate safety over functional priorities. Five design guidelines derived from this study could be used as basic data for the manufacture of walkers that reflect the views and needs of the elderly in the future in the manufacture and design of walkers for the elderly.