242 F.-G. Wu et al. / <strong>Assistive</strong> <strong>drawing</strong> <strong>device</strong> <strong>design</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Cerebral</strong> <strong>Palsy</strong> <strong>children</strong>Fig. 1. Current conditions of the original subject’s use of pen tools.(2) The glove space <strong>for</strong> the four fingers is too long,and should be shortened.(3) Owing to the extreme rigidity in the left armand the weak hand, it is difficult <strong>for</strong> the subjectto control the position of the moving <strong>drawing</strong>board.4. EvaluationEvaluation of this case study was based on measurementsconducted during experiments, as well as subjectiveand expert ratings. Measurements included agility,stroke, hand posture, stability, and so on.Fig. 2. Final product <strong>design</strong>. a: Glove of the hand-grip assistive<strong>device</strong>. b: Handle bar of the hand-grip assistive <strong>device</strong>. c: Armsupport assistive <strong>device</strong>. d: Moving <strong>drawing</strong> board.3.3. Moving <strong>drawing</strong> boardTo increase the product’s integrity, a moving <strong>drawing</strong>board with a handle knob was <strong>design</strong>ed that incorporateshand-grip and arm-support assistive <strong>device</strong>s <strong>for</strong>assisting the left hand in moving the paper while <strong>drawing</strong>.Rolling beads were inserted beneath the <strong>drawing</strong>board, allowing it to be easily positioned as desiredusing the handle knob. Notably, this <strong>drawing</strong> boardcan be used according to location and user ability. Themoving <strong>drawing</strong> board is <strong>design</strong>ed to help the user tomove the paper while <strong>drawing</strong>, encourage left handmovement, and increase the <strong>drawing</strong> range.3.4. Assessment and revisionFollowing product <strong>design</strong>, the subject was invited totest the product, and the teacher made the followingobservations:(1) The space around the thumb curve is too small,and thus the opening should be increased.4.1. Experimental methodThe experiment was per<strong>for</strong>med with the permissionof both the subject and her teacher. The experiment wasinitiated a total of three times. First, the T-shaped stickand T-shaped band were used as the assistive <strong>device</strong>s,then the hand-grip assistive <strong>device</strong> alone was used, andfinally, the hand-grip assistive <strong>device</strong> and arm supportassistive <strong>device</strong> were employed simultaneously. Thesurroundings and the desk and chair used in the experimentwere identical to those used by the subjectin daily classes. The experiment lasted <strong>for</strong> 20 minuteseach time and during each experiment the subjectwas allowed to draw at will on a piece of A4 paper.The subject was permitted a 20 minutes break betweeneach experiment. The <strong>drawing</strong> process was recordedon video camera to enable the creation of a detailedrecord.4.2. MeasurementFollowing the above three experiments, this studyused Corel Draw 9.0 graphics software to process thepictures into 5 mm square diagrams, then sketched theoutline of the pictures, and located the axis and centreof each diagram. Table 4 lists the experiment results.
F.-G. Wu et al. / <strong>Assistive</strong> <strong>drawing</strong> <strong>device</strong> <strong>design</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Cerebral</strong> <strong>Palsy</strong> <strong>children</strong> 243Table 4Experiment resultsExperimentequipmentBe<strong>for</strong>e using newassistive <strong>device</strong>Using hand-gripassistive <strong>device</strong>Using hand-grip and armsupport assistive <strong>device</strong>sDrawing resultsSquare diagramsAgility (rangecovered)Horizontal distance: Horizontal distance:163 m m168 mmVertical distance: 80 mm Vertical distance: 75 mmcentre: (65,15) mm centre: (18,12) mmHorizontal distance:208 mmVertical distance: 155 mmCenter: (-3,-12) mmStroke Mostly dots Dots and lines Mostly linesDistance (the longestline)Posture18 mm 52 m m133 m mStabilityUlnar deviationPalmar flexionWrist elevationAfter <strong>drawing</strong> in anormal posture <strong>for</strong> aperiod of time, arm restagainst the table andrestricted the <strong>drawing</strong>rangeNormal <strong>drawing</strong> postureAfter ten minutes,<strong>drawing</strong> speed slowedAfter thirteen minutes,<strong>drawing</strong> slowed downHand and arm restingstably on arm support.and hand tremors began. and the arm began to reston the desk.4.3. Subjective ratingVerbal questioning and video image observation revealedthat the subject was more satisfied with using the“hand-grip assistive <strong>device</strong>” and the “arm support assistive<strong>device</strong>” simultaneously, as specified in the thirdexperiment.