According to the WHO, falls are responsible for over 38 million disability-adjusted life years lost each year, globally. Additionally, an estimated 684.000 individuals die of falling each year, making it the second leading cause of unintentional death. One of the most effective physical activity interventions to reduce the risk of falling, is targeted exercise that safely challenges balance. One tool, that is currently
being developed, which can aid physical therapists with these interventions is the GyBAR. A wearable device that uses gyroscopes to apply moments to the patient. This can be used to either provide balance assistance or challenge balance by applying perturbations. The goal of this research was to develop an interface for the GyBAR. The interface should contribute to the acceptance of the GyBAR. This can be achieved by an excellent perceived ease of use, which combined with perceived usefulness
are indicators for the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The interface inspired by a Voodoo-doll was developed by going through the following design process steps; the creation of a list of requirements; a brainstorm to generate ideas; the development of three concepts; and the selection and development of one concept into a prototype. The Voodoo Doll controls the GyBAR by a handheld model of the patient, which can be manipulated and translates the movements of the model to the actual patient. User tests were performed to validate the design. With a SUS-score of 82.81 (SD=7.48), which is within the 90-95 percentile, it can be concluded that the interface has an excellent perceived ease of use. Further development is encouraged are several recommendations for points of improvement are given.

Trendelenburg gait is an abnormal gait that causes the pelvis to tilt downward during walking. The pelvis tilts downward above the unsupported leg, which is in the swing phase. Untreated, abnormal walking patterns can create the users to learn compensational movements and behaviours. As well as causing balancing issues when walking, it can also cause pathologies in the back, knees, and ankles or even the inability to walk. As a result, you walk inefficiently and with much effort. Wheelchairs and crutches are two of the most common assistance products today. Being time-conscious, we want to accomplish everything as quickly and efficiently as possible. Therefore, taking a wheelchair is a much faster solution than using crutches. Eventually, this behavior leads to an unhealthy lifestyle that negatively impacts the quality of life for the patients. In order to motivate patients to walk, a product is needed that is more efficient than the wheelchair and provides noticeable improvement over time, so that they feel as though they are making progress. Instead of crutches and wheelchairs, the patient should use a hip-brace. The goal of this project is to create a wearable product that will improve walking gait in the personal environment, taking into account the interaction and the user’s needs, focussing on the attachment to the body. As the user is central in this thesis, insights from user research are translated into the design. By starting with a mechanical principle that creates an abduction moment and translating it to requirements for the user and requirements regarding application to the human body, an integrated design was created that handled many aspects. The hip brace is designed to provide support, ease of use, and comfort. The ease of use is provided by the intuitive and simple process of attaching, a process that has been validated through extensive user research. The shape offers support to the right parts of the body, providing comfort. It provides the necessary support to prevent the hip from dropping while still allowing for some flexibility when walking.

Trendelenburg gait is an abnormal gait that occurs when hip abduction muscles are weakened. These weakened muscles cannot deliver enough force to prevent the pelvis from drooping when standing on one leg. This results in an abnormal gait where the upper body sways from left to right to keep the center of gravity above the standing foot. Besides standing out from other people when walking, this causes problems at the hip joint, knees, and ankles. This thesis presents a conceptual design of a compliant hip orthosis to prevent Trendelenburg gait. The design has a high adduction over flexion-extension stiffness ratio, meaning that the upper body is supported while walking is still possible. Also, the design exerts minimal shear forces on the human body, increasing comfort, and does not protrude from the body, making it aesthetically more appealing.