Abstract
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by the extra copy of 21st chromosome in human beings. People affected by Down syndrome have different anthropometric traits compared to rest of the population. They are shorter in height, have broader neck circumference, larger hip breadth and short hands. Many of the people affected with Down syndrome have desk jobs which require continuous sitting in the chair for a long period of time and causes musculoskeletal disorders among them. The office chair used currently is designed based on normal population. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) may be due to mismatch of their body anthropometry with normal chair. An ergonomic chair for people with Down syndrome was designed by considering their body anthropometric characteristics. The body measures of people with Down syndrome are collected and compared with the rest of the population. For designing the chair, 5th, 50th and 95th percentile of the anthropometric data was considered. It is found that people with Down syndrome needs chair with lower seat height, larger seat width and larger backrest width. The specific design of chair for people with Down syndrome will reduce their MSDs to a greater extent.
Keywords : Down syndrome, Anthropometric traits, Ergonomic chair, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Percentile