1.2 Background research
Sources
A Fraser, J Vallow, A Preston, R G Cooper, Predicting 'normal' grip strength for
rheumatoid arthritis patients., Rheumatology, Volume 38, Issue 6, Jun 1999, Pages 521–528, https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/38.6.521
This paper explores the connection between rheumatoid arthritis and the grip strength of patients with it. This papers goal was to find new ways to use physical therapy to diminish symptoms, but it included lots of good information regarding
FDA Technological Considerations for Additive Manufactured Medical Devices
https://www.fda.gov/media/97633/download
This site gave lots of in depth information regarding the actual ways in which one would go about designing and manufacturing assistive devices.
Dressing With Arthritis Tutorial Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3vHDC5Tz3U
This video gave us good insight into how one would dress while suffering from arthritis or a similar condition. This is where we noticed a possible inconsistency with the current state of clothes hooks, as the person performing in the video likely did not have any debilitating condition relating to this issue.
The Wardrobe and Well-being: exploring relationships between women living with rheumatoid arthritis and their clothing.
http://www.a-brand.co.uk/pdfs/ab_paperforinclude.pdf
This paper opened our eyes into how the simple act of getting dressed has such an impact on the lives of those with upper body disabilities. It is an act of pride and self-reliance every time someone gets dressed by themselves. This is what made us know that this is a big problem for many people, and it is worthwhile to devote time to solving it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1668807/
The research paper talks about how about 8% of the elderly are dependent on others for dressing, and how a very small number of them actually own a dressing aid. The article also talks about how the dimensioning of the aid depends on the user and how a larger or a shorter aid might affect its use and its reliability. Price range of the product has also been explained in the article, how material, functionality, durability, etc affect the costing of a particular dressing aid.
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5687889A/en
The patent above was a really good research material, as it helped gain insight into one of the best possible dressing aids. The patent is for a manually operable combination device to help a user who cannot bend at the back, waist, or knees with applying socks, shoes, pants, tightening and loosening shoelaces, removing socks and picking things up off the ground.
Reich, Naomi, and Patricia Otten. “Clothing and Dressing Needs of People with
Arthritis.” Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, June
1991, pp. 34–40, doi:10.1177/0887302X9100900405.
This paper discussed how many clothes are prohibitive to those with motor impairments, such as arthritis.
Steultjens EEMJ, Dekker JJ, Bouter LM, Schaardenburg DD, Kuyk MAMAH, Van
den Ende ECHM. Occupational therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Cochrane a base of Systematic Reviews 2004, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD003114. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003114.pub2.
This paper gave us lots of information regarding how occupational therapy can help those with rheumatoid arthritis. While this is an option, any assistive device that can mitigate issues would also be a good choice to those suffering from these conditions.
How to use a dressing stick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN_dEj5qkaY
This video showed the basics on how to use a clothing hook, or dressing stick.