Development of a head support system for use during hoist transfer to a swivel walker

Abstract

0 d enelaus [3] all reported anecdotal evidence of improveents in urinary drainage, bowel function and peripheral irculation. Mazur et al. [4] showed that non-walkers had p to five times the number of pressure sores, twice the numer of bone fractures and were only one-quarter as likely o be independently mobile as those who had walked from nfancy. A wide range of standing and walking orthoses are eadily available, but there is anecdotal evidence to suggest hat manual handling policies are limiting their use because of erceived problems with patient transfer. In response to this hallenge, a MedLINK project [5] is currently attempting to dentify techniques to assist in safe transfer. The following brief report examines the development of a echnique for transferring between a wheelchair and swivel alker using specially designed straps to ensure adequate ead support. the early stages of the lift; this was acceptable for children with spina bifida who were the original client group of swivel walker users. In recent years, this group has expanded to include disabilities such as muscular dystrophy and non-athetoid cerebral palsy where upper body strength and function are impaired. In these cases, the client may not be able to support their head and shoulders during the early stages of the lift from supine to vertical. Relying on the carer to physically support the head during lifting is likely to be proscribed by the manual handling assessment due to the asymmetrical posture that the carer would need to adopt.