# Developing Innovative Crutch Using IDeS (Industrial Design Structure) Methodology
## 3 Case Study
### Design Settings
#### 3.1.2 Benchmarking  
In the benchmarking were compared the main crutches on the market based on different materials, handles, tips, height adjustability, weights, maximum capacities, amortizations and price. Currently, there are no sensorized or technological crutches on the market; for this reason, in the benchmarking there are only \"analogical\" crutches. Models of patented sensorized crutches exists, but these are not included in the market yet; among these crutches, there are some that can monitor the applied load and send tactile or visual feedback (see patents WO2011039389A2 or DE10200409551A1), or that increase visibility at night with lights (see CN107296726 patent), or that can send a help signal through sensors or buttons (see patent CN109588825A), just to name a few. These crutches are far from being on the market because of their constructive and technological complexity. For these reasons, in the benchmarking were included only crutches already present on the market. (Table 4). Among the selected crutches, for example, the titanium material was considered as a \"Top\" because it is the best compromise between weight and resistance; excellent resistance is necessary to support the weight of the person and provides a long-lasting quality, and a low weight is preferable to avoid the lift of a too heavy crutch. Another \"Top\" was given to crutches that have a good grip on damp soils, thanks to a tip with non-slip material. Then, the best and worst values among the performances have been compared for each row and the quantity of Flop (worst performance) - marked with the red background in the Table 4 - and Top (best performance) - marked with the green background in the Table 4 - is added to the columns. Making the difference between Top values and Flop values, the highest score of \(\Delta\) obtained will define the number of characteristics that have to be innovated among those identified in the Innovation Column. In this case, the \(\Delta\) Innovation was 2. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Feature** & **1.** & **2.** & **3.** & **4.** & **5.** & **6.** & **7.** & **8.** & **9.** & **10.** \\ \hline
1. Motorized height & 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 2 \\ \hline
2. Open/close door alarm & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 2 \\ \hline
3. NFC payment & 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ \hline
4. Fall alarm & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ \hline
5. Integrated GPS & 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 2 \\ \hline
6. Smartphone commands & 0 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 1 \\ \hline
7. Turn on-off lights & 1 & 1 & 1 & 2 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 2 \\ \hline
8. Thermo regulable handle & 1 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 1 & 1 & 2 & 2 \\ \hline
9. Power bank & 2 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 2 \\ \hline
10. Usage monitoring & 0 & 0 & 1 & 1 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\ \hline
**Total** & **7** & **14** & **10** & **16** & **7** & **13** & **8** & **3** & **6** & **16** \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Relationship Matrix of Relative Importance. For achieving innovation, a product with a \(\Delta\geq 3\) should be obtained, thanks to the improvement of some of the characteristics analyzed. Then, another matrix was used to determine which of the requisites had to be developed, through a ranking of the most useful ones to innovate. In the What-How Matrix (Table 5), the six features obtained from the Relationship Matrices and the performances of the Innovation Column are compared. The assigned score will be:  
* 0--if the performance of the column does not influence the feature of the row,
* 1--if the performance of the column affects very little the feature of the row,
* 3--if the performance of the column influences the feature of the line enough,
* 9--if the performance of the column greatly influences the feature of the row. By adding the values along the columns, a classification of which performance must be innovated is obtained.