Studies on Designing Adaptive Sportswear for Differently …
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The adaptive sportswear prototypes were assessed for the movements of the
wheelchair during the game; interference with the assistive devices used by the
wheelchair-bound players, ease of donning and doffing and on the muscle strain
faced by the wheelchair-bound players during January 2020. Data was collected
through verbal feedback and video recordings for analysis. The modifications were
made on the prototypes based on the analysis, prior to proposing of design concepts.
2.3 Infrared Thermography Studies
Additionally, infrared thermography was conducted on the female player in a real
set up at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, Bengaluru during January 2020.
Tests were carried out in an open court at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association
with a recorded temperature of 28 °C and average relative humidity of 76 %. The
aim of the thermal imaging is to study the changes in the skin temperature of the
wheelchair-bound players during the match using Fluke Ti480 Pro Thermal Imaging
Camera with the resolution of pixels 640 × 480 and with the sensitivity of 0.05 °C
at 30 °C target temperature. Thermal images of the sportsman body front and back
were taken after 6, 12 and 18 min of the match to observe the process of the rise of
cutaneous temperature and the thermoregulation with respect to different zones of
the body. The results were analysed using Fluke Connect software, focusing on the
muscle zones according to the model proposed by Fernandez-Cuevas et al. [9]. The
results were analysed for the development of design criteria of adaptive sportswear.
3 Research Findings
The observations from the user-centred studies, findings from the in-depth interviews
with the sportsman has been analysed and presented in this section. Additionally, the
data from the infrared thermography studies representing the changes in the skin
temperature of the wheelchair-bound players during the match were analysed for the
development of design criteria of adaptive sportswear. Findings from the research
observations have been categorised into different areas of functional needs based
on: the movements of the wheelchair during the game, on the assistive devices used
by the wheelchair-bound players who have lost the mobility of their legs due to
poliomyelitis, on the muscle strain faced by the wheelchair-bound players, on studies
of infrared thermography of the wheelchair-bound players and on common strain and
injuries encountered by the wheelchair-bound players. All needs have been discussed
in the following sections. The design criteria developed (Table 1) has been used in
conceptualisation of the designs of the adaptive sportswear for wheelchair-bound
tennis players presented in Sect. 3.7.
71
The adaptive sportswear prototypes were assessed for the movements of the
wheelchair during the game; interference with the assistive devices used by the
wheelchair-bound players, ease of donning and doffing and on the muscle strain
faced by the wheelchair-bound players during January 2020. Data was collected
through verbal feedback and video recordings for analysis. The modifications were
made on the prototypes based on the analysis, prior to proposing of design concepts.
2.3 Infrared Thermography Studies
Additionally, infrared thermography was conducted on the female player in a real
set up at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, Bengaluru during January 2020.
Tests were carried out in an open court at Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association
with a recorded temperature of 28 °C and average relative humidity of 76 %. The
aim of the thermal imaging is to study the changes in the skin temperature of the
wheelchair-bound players during the match using Fluke Ti480 Pro Thermal Imaging
Camera with the resolution of pixels 640 × 480 and with the sensitivity of 0.05 °C
at 30 °C target temperature. Thermal images of the sportsman body front and back
were taken after 6, 12 and 18 min of the match to observe the process of the rise of
cutaneous temperature and the thermoregulation with respect to different zones of
the body. The results were analysed using Fluke Connect software, focusing on the
muscle zones according to the model proposed by Fernandez-Cuevas et al. [9]. The
results were analysed for the development of design criteria of adaptive sportswear.
3 Research Findings
The observations from the user-centred studies, findings from the in-depth interviews
with the sportsman has been analysed and presented in this section. Additionally, the
data from the infrared thermography studies representing the changes in the skin
temperature of the wheelchair-bound players during the match were analysed for the
development of design criteria of adaptive sportswear. Findings from the research
observations have been categorised into different areas of functional needs based
on: the movements of the wheelchair during the game, on the assistive devices used
by the wheelchair-bound players who have lost the mobility of their legs due to
poliomyelitis, on the muscle strain faced by the wheelchair-bound players, on studies
of infrared thermography of the wheelchair-bound players and on common strain and
injuries encountered by the wheelchair-bound players. All needs have been discussed
in the following sections. The design criteria developed (Table 1) has been used in
conceptualisation of the designs of the adaptive sportswear for wheelchair-bound
tennis players presented in Sect. 3.7.