Proaid E. Low Cost Neurological Wheelchair Design

Low-income disabled people in Colombia routinely face problems in accessing reasonably priced assistive devices and disability products. The standard, low-cost Proaid M wheelchair, made with assembled laminated wood components and commercially available materials, is an object-based response to this problem. Based on the Proaid M design, a new model—the Proaid E—was developed for a 12-year old child with mixed cerebral palsy. The project combined the analytical systemic model “Disabled People-Built Environment” with a focus on user-centered design. The end result of this project brought about a marked improvement in the quality of life of an individual who had previously been denied the minimum necessary conditions for basic mobility.