DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OF AN ANGLE ADJUSTABLE CRUTCH WITH KENNEDY KEY MECHANISM

A crutch is a mobility aid that transfers weight from the legs to the upper body. It has been observed that users of walking aids require double the energy than the normal gait. Users experience a lot of stress at underarm and wrist while using standard underarm or forearm crutches which is the primary reason for pain and various medical complications. Therefore, a new design of crutch has been developed which allows the user to apply his/her weight over a larger area along the forearm instead of wrist and underarm. The primary objective of the study is provide more comfort to the end user of the crutch. The modeling of the new crutch design has been done using CAD modeling package (Catia). Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the design has been conducted using ANSYS to understand the stress behavior in the new model. The new crutch has been fabricated using aluminum alloy because of its properties like high strength to weight ratio and low density. The fabrication of the new crutch has been performed in such a way that it ensured the entire crutch can be disassembled easily thus making it easily transportable. The testing of the new crutch has been carried out using energy expenditure method to assess the comfort level of the user.