Assistive Technology: Personalized for Impact

Researchers in the Pacific Northwest recently delivered a piece of assistive technology whose development began with a simple but important question: what would a person using this technology need?

Last month, a team of engineers and occupational therapists from Whitworth University A learning station they developed for a first grader with cerebral palsy arrived in Spokane, Washington.

David Schipf, assistant professor of engineering and physics at Whitworth, says the project's success was made possible by the combined efforts of team members—engineers, physical and occupational therapists—and the child and his family. After numerous consultations with the family, Whitworth's team presented their system.

“The station is very user-friendly, allows Ryken to focus on his first-grade studies, and puts him at eye level with those talking to him,” Schipf says. “He will also be able to move around the house as needed.”

First grader Raiken has a uniform cerebral palsy along with other violations, including epilepsyhearing and vision impairment.

Ryken's mother initially contacted Schipf because Ryken could not fully participate in his education. And she discovered lack of suitable equipment in a market that Ryken could use to meet his needs.

What's happened User-centered design in assistive technology?

Being supporters user-centered design (UCD) noted, functional assistive technology must “meet the needs” of the person for whom it is created, and not just the needs of the people designing it.

For example, Schipf says, the station had a high-contrast black background that allowed Ryken to easily see everything in front of him. “It had to have some customizable features for his caregivers and his teacher,” Schipf says. “And his mother wanted the seat in the learning center to be able to be raised and lowered depending on what he was doing at the moment. So if he's studying with his teacher, have it lower to the ground, and then if he's in kitchen with his mom to lift it to counter height.”

“The lifting and lowering was done using an electric piston that we purchased,” he adds. “And it's typically designed for kitchen tables for families that want a kitchen table that can be raised and lowered. So it had the load capacity that we needed. And then we just had a fairly large built-in power supply that could also provide a 120 AC power supply for the lift and lower platform. … And then several of the mechanical components were custom designed and printed on 3D printer.”

Katie EricssonAssociate Professor of the Department of Professional therapy at Whitworth, singled out one of the students working on the project. This student also suggested emphasizing the aesthetics of the project, reminding the team, “Hey, this is going to be in their home, and his mom doesn’t want it to look ugly in their home.” This is a small example of the good ideas she had, and “without her, we might have created a functional but ugly prototype.”

Complex circuit board with colorful wiring and components in a compact package.David Schipf

Making assistive technology more collaborative

Schipf, Ericsson and the students are also working on another project to benefit people with disabilities. The project focused on developing an emergency communication device for a young woman in the Spokane area. She is 20 years old, she is active, but she has problems with speech. The project arose out of her father's concern for her well-being in case something happened to him while she was out in nature or traveling around the city.

The device fits easily into a belt bag. The concept of the device is simple. In the event of an emergency, the device is designed to send SMS message to pre-programmed recipients at the touch of a button.

“This father is a little older and has some health issues,” Schipf says. “And he's very concerned that he'll go camping with his daughter and he'll pass out or something will happen to him, and then she'll be alone and no one will understand her speech and no one will help her… And so we developed an electrical system that fits in a fanny pack.”

The device, according to Schipf, has large textured buttons that allow the owner to send SMS alerts with geolocation in the event of an emergency. “So this is location tracking and SMS service,” he continues. “And then another button on the device plays an audio message that asks any stranger she encounters to call her father.”

Both devices demonstrate collaboration and assistive technology capabilities. Although these devices were created for specific people, the technology used to create them can be modified or duplicated to serve more people. disability the community as a whole.

“I know engineering students, occupational therapists, and physiotherapy For students, it's much more meaningful to them when they see faces and talk to real customers,” says Eriksson. “This is much more meaningful than just the teaching example we give them.”