<p>Neck braces and head supports used today do not allow wearers to rotate their head while maintaining the support they need. For people with chronic muscle diseases, such as ALS, DHS, Myasthenia Gravis, and Muscular Dystrophy, this inconvenience greatly affects their quality of life in that it hinders their abilities to perform activities of daily living, such as nonverbal communication and knowing their surroundings outside without having to move their entire body. There is a need for a head support device that allows individuals with chronic muscle diseases to rotate their heads, so they may better perform daily activities of living and thus live a more fulfilling life. </p> <p>The purpose of this study was to assess the basic stance of safety of a dynamic head support device that allows individuals with chronic muscle diseases to rotate their heads left and right. The assessment includes an experimental procedure that will conclude whether this device can withstand the load equivalent to an average adult’s head in a stationary position and a dynamic movement.</p> <p>This research proposed a procedure that has a testing apparatus that will place a predetermined load onto the dynamic head support device to stabilize it and then continuously add weight that was checked incrementally. This load was placed on the device while it was centered and static first. The next step in this procedure is to assess whether or not the load on the device can be carried while dynamically moving on the race of the radial sliding track of the device. The data recorded from this experiment will provide the necessary information to determine whether the basic safety requirement of load capacity for a medical device such as the one in this proposed research is met. </p>

Water is essential in the life of human beings, and, if used in therapeutic way through the Aquatic Physical Therapy, it promotes health and the recovery of countless diseases. In this work some of the artifacts used in the Aquatic Physical Therapy were analyzed with the objective of proposing their improvement. For that, supports for head and cervical column and boards already available in the Brazilian market, were selected for study. A survey of users' satisfaction it was made, with base in interviews with patients and reports of physiotherapists' experiences. The artifacts were considered in agreement with the stages suggested by design methods. Then recommendations were offered in order to present therapeutic options for those who employ such products with therapeutic ends. The main contribution of this study is to demonstrate to physiotherapists one way in which they cam participate in morphologic, functional and use evaluation of artifacts of their everyday use, and the professional role in the improvement of the function of such products. / A água é essencial na vida do ser humano, e, se utilizada de forma terapêutica através da Fisioterapia Aquática, promove o bem-estar e a recuperação de inúmeros distúrbios. Neste trabalho, alguns dos artefatos utilizados na Fisioterapia Aquática foram analisados com o objetivo de propor o seu aprimoramento. Para isso foram estudados alguns posicionadores de coluna cervical e cabeça e pranchas disponíveis no mercado brasileiro, foi feita uma sondagem da satisfação dos usuários com base em entrevistas a pacientes e relatos de experiências de fisioterapeutas. Os artefatos foram estudados de acordo com as etapas sugeridas por metodologias projetuais. A partir daí recomendações foram oferecidas no sentido de apresentar opções terapêuticas a serem usadas no meio aquático pelos pacientes. Por fim, a principal contribuição deste estudo é a demonstração de um modo de participação do fisioterapeuta na avaliação morfológica e funcional dos artefatos que utiliza e do seu papel na melhoria da função desses no atendimento fisioterapêutico.