{"id":14328,"date":"2015-12-08T13:06:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T18:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=14328"},"modified":"2016-01-05T09:51:09","modified_gmt":"2016-01-05T14:51:09","slug":"engineering-students-preserve-independence-for-high-school-student-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2015\/12\/engineering-students-preserve-independence-for-high-school-student-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Engineering students preserve independence for local teen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-attachment-id=\"14329\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2015\/12\/engineering-students-preserve-independence-for-high-school-student-2\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1280,855\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Cindy Carroll&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;DMC-GF3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1429639875&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;15&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;800&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.076923076923077&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-1024x684.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-14329 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Engineering team consisting of Hector Gutierrez, Cody Flowers, Erik Dale, Nick Pierson, Dillon Grider posing with the assistive device they created.\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-580x387.jpg 580w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-610x408.jpg 610w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-250x167.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2015\/12\/engr-2015-showcase-mackenzie-bathroom-helper.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">MacKenzie, a student at Chattanooga Christian School uses his scooter to maneuver through campus. \u00a0The 14-year old boy has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which worsens much more quickly than other forms of muscular dystrophy. Symptoms include fatigue and muscle deterioration, and leads to progressive difficulty walking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He does not use a wheelchair, but MacKenzie cannot take his scooter into the school restroom. He leaves his scooter outside the door, walks to the handicap stall, the last stall, to use the restroom.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cMacKenzie is very independent, in both mind and body, and he wanted to maintain that independence,\u201d said Cody Flowers, part of a team of engineering students who created an award-winning assistive device for MacKenzie to preserve his independence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The device the team designed is 30 inches from the floor, both in the vertical and the horizontal position, and is level with MacKenzie\u2019s midway point, where he can shift the most weight.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe wanted to design something that encompassed the features of, say, a support system near the toilet, something he could put on the wall to hold onto, and a cane, because we wanted him to be able to walk to the stall safely, and to be able to sit and stand safely,\u201d said Flowers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Originally, the team intended to make the design out of lightweight steel welded together, but the availability of that material proved problematic. UTC engineering students who built a vehicle for participation in the Baja Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International competition donated lightweight steel to the project, but there was not enough, and they were unable to obtain more in time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instead, the team adapted their design to be made out of aluminum, riveted together.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe materials all came from the local hardware store. One employee knew my name by the time it was over,\u201d said Dillon Grider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hector Gutierrez was the student who began to sketch out an approach he had, just before the group went in a different direction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe were brainstorming and we wanted to combine all these aspects, and we were all putting out ideas, and I just came up with it and drew it out randomly,\u201d said Gutierrez. \u201cI had to explain to them how it would work, because I\u2019m not the best drawer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt was like in a movie where someone pulls out a napkin and a pen and just starts sketching the great idea,\u201d said Grider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The student group decided to go with rivets instead of welding, which made the build a little tricky.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe had to drill into some very tight areas to make sure it\u2019s stable. We also encountered some areas that needed extra stability, so we added more brackets and cross-bracing,\u201d said Grider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The design is lightweight and mobile. After school, McKenzie can take the device home and then use it in other places, like his church, in tandem with ADA compliant railing in handicap stalls, Flowers explained.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The design is specific to MacKenzie\u2019s height, but with a telescopic cane, could easily be made adjustable to other heights.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWe have seriously weight tested it, and it can definitely take his weight,\u201d said Grider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The team is looking at getting the idea patented through the school.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt was rewarding, getting to help someone out. One of the best parts is that we could stop by Chattanooga Christian School in a month or two and see him using this device we made. And that\u2019s what we hoped would happen. We wanted him to be able to use it for as long as possible, and we wanted his life to be enriched,\u201d said Erik Dale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI think that\u2019s an important idea, that we can become engineers and create things that actually help people and make the world better,\u201d said Gultierrez.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The project won a Certificate of Excellence for Most Outstanding Project in the spring 2015 CECS Design Showcase. \u00a0Originally budgeted for $400, the project came in well under the amount with a final cost of $200.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A team of engineering students helped preserve the independence of a local high school student by designing an award-winning assistive device to help him navigate to the restroom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2015\/12\/engineering-students-preserve-independence-for-high-school-student-2\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":857,"featured_media":14329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,59,661],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","9":"category-students","10":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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