Page 41 - Mobility Management, July/August 2021

SAFETY AS A PROCESS
As the first company to produce a Level 2 driver assistance system for wheelchair users, we are leading the way on safety in the industry.1
Current wheelchair standards are primarily written to deal with physical durability and electrical safety for the power base of the wheelchair. Meeting these defined minimums is important for the wheelchair industry, but safety at LUCI goes much further.
From the beginning, LUCI established our quality system, with documented practices that ensure safety is always considered in the development
of our technology. We leaned on our experienced employees and advisors to take best practices from the medical device, automotive, and aerospace worlds to embed safety into how we work every day. Over time, these practices have continued to evolve into the first comprehensive and robust system for evaluating wheelchair driver assistance devices.
HOW LUCI WORKS
LUCI adds smart technology to an existing power wheelchair for stability, security, and connectivity. For LUCI to do the amazing things that it does, three elements must work together with the user:
1 The base wheelchair, as certified by the wheelchair manufacturer,
It is, impossible to develop a perfect collision avoidance or drop-off protection system that
will work in all environments and all settings. However, our process includes identifying hazards to the wheelchair user and potential mitigations that can be implemented to reduce risks that
are in line with ISO 14971 risk management for medical device best practices. These mitigations take various forms such as software or hardware requirements, hardware or software design recommendations, training recommendations,
or disclosures. We use a variety of hazard identification methods such as Risk Assessment and Design Failure Modes and Effects Analyses (DFMEA). This continuous process goes hand-in- hand with ongoing engineering and test activities to continually improve the capabilities of LUCI and increase user safety.
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3 LuciCore software.
The LUCI hardware, and,
Each of these subsystems is then combined to form a LUCI enabled wheelchair. Individually and collectively testing the hardware and software ensures that our collision avoidance and drop-off protection system meets the safety requirements that we establish for our system.
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LUCI® SAFETY REPORT