Human factors
Designing products and systems to fit human bodies and cognitive ability
There’s a new off-road handcycle option for wheelchair users with limited arm and grip strength who want to get off the beaten path. The XE series handcycles from Maddiline, an Italian manufacturer, feature a high seat height that
… READ MORE“People will look,” warned Minna Caroline Smith in Lapham’s Quarterly about her pioneering tricycling touring of the coastal North Shore in eastern Massachusetts. It wasn’t just that the self-powered adult tricycles were
… READ MOREAttention training in young people with autism can lead to significant improvements in academic performance, according to a new study. Thomas Park photo Unsplash Beck Lockwood, University of Birmingham 06 July 2021 Researchers at the
… READ MOREEngineering couldn’t cure a devastating illness, but it could still help someone cope with it. We were spending a week on California’s Pacific Crest Trail, traversing a part of the Sierras north and west of Lake Tahoe. The terrain
… READ MOREResearchers from Loughborough University and the University of Manchester have written a free algorithm that can be used with any scanning machine. Loughborough University photo by Peter Warzynski, Loughborough University, June 28,
… READ MORENike’s new, first truly-hands free shoe, The Nike Go FlyEase, is a reality because in 2012 a teen with cerebral palsy didn’t want his classmates tying his shoes. Matthew Walzer, 16 at the time, wrote a letter to Nike outlining his
… READ MOREConstruction already underway on some sites which will give children of varying abilities space to play. A rendering of the inclusive playground to be built in Elliston Park in southeast Calgary. City of Calgary Scott Dippel, CBC News
… READ MOREAssistive devices can improve quality of life, but their high cost keeps them out of reach for many. Tammy Martin’s eSight helps her magnify images, as well as change their colour, contrast and focus. Tammy Martin Feleshia
… READ MOREAcademic institutions need to do much more to support faculty members with disabilities and to create an environment in which they can thrive, argues a commentary published May 18 in the journal Trends in Neurosciences. Breaking
… READ MOREWe welcome kids, teens and their families! Ascend Pediatrics photo Contact Ascend Pediatrics 126 2nd Ave W Cochrane, Alberta T4C 2E7 403-404-5767 info@ascendpeds.com Physiotherapy We help infants, toddlers and children
… READ MORELil E Coffee Café hires those with intellectual disabilities. Calgarian Paul Constance founded the Lil E Coffee Café, which hires only people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. 1:05 CBC Terri Trembath, CBC News
… READ MOREPower chair users tired of trashing walls and doors have a new option that promises the smallest turning radius on the market. Quickie’s new Q300 M Mini offers a 17-inch turning radius (without footplates) that should make
… READ MORE‘Our access to education should matter,’ said one student. ‘I have to choose between my safety and my education,’ said Concordia University student Alicia-Ann Pauld. Submitted by Alicia-Ann Pauld Gretel Kahn,
… READ MOREInterviews with pediatricians show that providing remote medical consultations is highly stressful and challenging, but this can be managed with extra skills and training. Telemedicine for children with disabilities in remote
… READ MOREThe Canada Health Act states that health care should be portable — but health records are not. Despite billion-dollar efforts to promote information transfers between jurisdictions,[1] sharing health information today often requires
… READ MORELuke Anderson has thought a lot about designing accessible spaces. And he’s come to an important conclusion. Luke Anderson wants us to reconsider the importance of design. Photo courtesy of Luke Anderson Tapestry, CBC
… READ MOREAs COVID-19 continues to spread, children and youth with special health care needs may be at increased risk for complications. This includes children with chronic conditions, disabilities, and those with medically complex conditions.
… READ MOREHassan Farah, a Virginia Tech translational biology, medicine, and health graduate student, has been awarded a $98,000 National Institutes of Health grant that will fund his remaining predoctoral research. The award supports
… READ MORECould lead to early intervention, help prevent disability. Noah Drozda shows off a pair of motion detectors that he wore around the clock for a study on motor deficits in children. Researchers at Washington University School of
… READ MOREAs COVID-19 vaccine distribution and prioritization plans roll out across Canada, people with developmental disabilities, their families, support workers and community agencies have been asking: What does this mean for us? Dr. Yona
… READ MOREThose familiar with this young column know that “the machine” represents the large or small barriers and roadblocks those of us with mobility disabilities have to overcome. Todd Stabelfeldt By Todd Stabelfeldt, New Mobility July
… READ MOREDr. Loren Davison at UC Davis is projected from a monitor, as he watches physical therapist Janet Freeman work with a patient during a telemedicine session at Hoover Elementary School. The Stockton school is the site of a pilot
… READ MORESask. government promised to expand funding for autistic children in 2021. Declan, who recently turned six, is autistic. His mother, Tarah Degelman, says the pandemic has been hard on him because of the lack of access to therapies and
… READ MOREJohn Kendrick, from Sparkwell, near Plymouth, has progressive multiple sclerosis, and never thought he’d be able to walk any distance again. Now, thanks to taking part in a clinical trial at the University of Plymouth, he can
… READ MOREThe winner of the three-year Mobility Unlimited Challenge has now been announced with Phoenix Instinct from the UK receiving $1 million to further develop their intelligent ultra-light carbon fiber wheelchair, bring it to market, and
… READ MOREA new effort is underway to better prepare future doctors and other health care professionals to treat people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. First-year medical students learn to use an automated external
… READ MOREPlayers with disabilities and chronic illnesses haven’t waited around for console manufacturers to look their way. Here’s how far we’ve come—and how far we have to go Mark Barlet, President of the AbleGamers
… READ MOREAssociation wants province to restore early intervention PUF program to 2018 levels. A motion passed by the Alberta School Boards Association at a recent meeting means they will now fight for funding of the PUF program to be restored
… READ MOREOutcomes of the course might include assistive device prototypes, smartphone apps that better connect patients with providers, or virtual reality systems that enable remote therapy. Elham Morshedzadeh, Chris Arena, and Pamela
… READ MOREComfortable brace incorporates both sensors and actuators to restore roughly 70% of the active range of motion. A study participant wearing the neck brace. Photo and Video credit: Haohan Zhang and Sunil K. Agrawal, Columbia
… READ MORE
