CUTTACK: On Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind will present the National Awards for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, 2018 in New Delhi. Among the recipients will be Senior Occupational Therapist from Swami Vivekananda National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR), Cuttack, Subrata Kumar Haldar. Haldar has been selected for developing an adaptive seating device that promises to transform lives of children suffering from cerebral palsy (CP).
The Postural Correction (PC) Chair, as it is called, is an innovation that not only ensures postural improvement in CP children but also accommodates their physical growth and encourages changes in physical activity. It is cost-effective and at the same time provides a single therapeutic aid for all the different disabilities manifested in CP.
Cerebral palsy is the most common locomotor disability in children with an estimated prevalence of 2.5-3 per 1,000 live births. It results in impaired muscle coordination and movements but the disabilities vastly differ from child to child.
“The PC Chair is one-of-its-kind in the world as it can be adjusted to all kinds of CP impairments and helps posture correction of different manifestations be it muscular weakness, paralysis, floppy and rigid limbs and necks or exaggerated reflexes. Further, it works long-term through the child’s growth from 2 years to 10 years”, said Haldar.Though he had conceptualised the appliance in the 90’s, he started working on it in 2016 and finished it in March 2017.
The adjustable chair comprises a seat, an adjustable back rest, an adjustable foot rest, an adjustable pair of arm rests, an adjustable pair of shoulder guards, two backwardly inclined back legs, two front legs, a cut out tray, an adjustable pommel, adjustable C shaped pelvic supports and fixtures. It holds the user in a desired position to achieve quick improvement in posture correction and controlled limb and trunk movements.
“Besides CP, the chair is also beneficial for down syndrome, spina bifida, brain injury or other neurological motor disabilities. We have tested it with over 30 children with very successful results. My patent application for this product has been accepted by the World Intellectual Property Organisation and it is expected soon”, he said.
The PC Chair will go into mass scale production after patenting. It will cost only around Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 so that all sections can afford, Haldar stated. Recognising the innovation, the PC Chair has been selected in the category of ‘Best new cost effective product development aimed at improving the life of persons with disabilities’ for the National Award.