Rowing in a new direction: BME design project supports adaptive exercise

One day, Tim Tran hopes to walk into a gym and see a rowing machine that’s easily convertible for people who use wheelchairs.

Tran and four fellow biomedical engineering students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are doing their part to turn that vision into a reality. Through the Department of Biomedical Engineering’s undergraduate design program, the group is working with fitness manufacturer Johnson Health Tech.

In two previous semesters, the students have taken a standard rowing machine and modified it with 3D-printed components to allow users in wheelchairs to secure themselves to the front of the machine, rotate the display console to face them, and pull the rowing bar in their direction. They’ve twice toured Johnson Health Tech’s facility in nearby Cottage Grove, Wisconsin.

During the spring 2023 semester, they’re focused on tweaking the machine so users can change the level of resistance from the adaptive side, along with making their design more manufacturable for mass production.

“We’ve gone from concept to idea to functioning prototype, improved that prototype, and are now taking that prototype into something that’s more professional,” says team member Josh Andreatta.

While a few adaptive machines exist, Andreatta notes they’re not convertible between standard and adaptive setups—functionality that would be especially useful in a gym setting.

“Maybe our design will inspire someone else to also add more inclusive gym equipment to their line of products,” says team member Roxi Reuter.

The students, along with the rest of their biomedical engineering classmates, will present their prototype as part of the BME design showcase April 28, 2023, in the atrium of the Engineering Centers Building.

Top photo caption: From left: Biomedical engineering undergraduate students Josh Andreatta, Annabel Frake, Tim Tran, Samuel Skirpan and Roxi Reuter demonstrate their design project. Photo by Tom Ziemer.