Assistive Technology: Personalized for Impact

Researchers in the US Pacific Northwest recently came up with a piece of assistive technology whose design began with a simple but important question: What does the person using this technology need?

Last month a team of engineers and occupational therapists arrived Whitworth University Delivered a learning station in Spokane, Wash., that he designed for first graders with cerebral palsy.

David Schipf, assistant professor of engineering and physics at the Whitworth, says the project’s success was due to the collaborative efforts between the team members—engineers, physical therapists and occupational therapists—and the child and his family. After several consultations with the family, the Whitworth team came up with their system.

“The station is very user-friendly, allowing Ryken to focus on his first-grade studies and keeping up with who he’s talking to,” says Schiff. “He will also be able to move around the house as needed.”

Raiken, a first grader, is a form of cerebral palsy With other disabilities, including epilepsy, hearing and visual impairments.

Ryken’s mother initially contacted Schiff because Ryken was unable to fully participate in his education. And it discovered a lack of suitable equipment in the market that Ryken could use to meet its needs.

What is user-centered design in assistive technology?

as a supporter of User-Centered Design (UCD) mentioned, functional assistive technology It needs to “respond to the needs” of the person it is designed for – not just the needs of the people designing it.

For example, Schipp says, the station’s high-contrast black background allowed Ryken to easily see anything placed in front of him. “It should have some adjustable features for his caregivers and his teacher,” says Schiff. “And his mom wanted the learning center seat to be able to move up and down depending on what he’s doing at the time. So if he’s learning with his teacher put it low to the ground, and then if he’s in the kitchen with his mom, raise it to counter height.”

He added, “The raising and lowering came from an electric piston type of raising and lowering we bought.” “And it’s typically designed for kitchen tables for families who want a kitchen table that can raise and lower. So it had the load capacity that we needed. And then we just had a very large onboard power bank that could also provide an AC 120 voltage power source to raise and lower the platform. …And then a number of mechanical components were custom designed and 3D printed. Was.”

Katie Erickson, assistant professor of occupational therapy at Whitworth, highlights one of the students working on the project. This student suggested that emphasis also be placed on the aesthetics of the project, reminding the team that, “Hey, this is going to be in their house, and her mom doesn’t want it to look ugly in her house.” This is just a small example of his good ideas, and “without him, we could have produced a prototype that was functional but ugly.”

Intricate circuit boards with colorful wires and components in a compact setup.david shipf

Making assistive technology more collaborative

Schipf, Erickson and the students are also working on another project to benefit people with disabilities. This project focused on developing an emergency communication device for a young woman in the Spokane area. He is 20 years old and is able to walk but has difficulty speaking. The project arose from her father’s concern for her well-being should something happen to her while she was away or traveling in the city.

The device is designed to fit easily into a fanny pack. The concept behind the device is simple. In the event of an emergency, the purpose of the device is to send an SMS message to preprogrammed recipients at the press of a button.

“This dad, he’s a little older, and he has some health problems,” says Schiff. “And she’s really worried that he’s going on a trip with his daughter and she’s going to die or something is going to happen to her, and then she’ll be left alone without anyone to understand her speech and without anyone to help her. …And so we designed an electrical system that fits in a fanny pack.”

Schipf says the device has large, textured buttons that allow the wearer to send geolocated SMS alerts in case of an emergency. “So it has location tracking and an SMS service,” he adds. “And then the second button on the device plays an audio message asking any strangers to call her father.”

Both devices demonstrate the power of both collaboration and assistive technology. Although these devices were created for specific individuals, the technology used to create them can be modified or duplicated to serve the larger disability community as a whole.

“I know both engineering students and occupational therapy and physical therapy students, it’s more meaningful to them when they get a chance to see faces and talk to real clients,” Erickson says. “It’s much more meaningful than the textbook case study we give them.”