Human factors
Designing products and systems to fit human bodies and cognitive ability
The biomechanical implications of high-heeled shoes are well known, and now dramatic weight-bearing images and new study findings are taking practitioner and patient awareness to the next level. But many women are still sacrificing
… READ MOREThe University of Michigan, Altair Engineering and Stratasys have teamed up to create the CYBER Team, a group dedicated to creating better ankle foot orthotics (AFOs). Kyle Maxey, Engineering.com March 02, 2016 The traditional process
… READ MOREEnjoy the use of a custom-fit bike for $75. Trix youth wheels. Hase Come out and try a bike! Register for the 2017 Adapted Bike Program in Calgary. We will have specialists on hand experienced in fitting your child with an adaptive
… READ MOREOpen Style Lab’s ten-week interdisciplinary research program teams designers, engineers, and occupational therapists to create wearable solutions with and for clients with disabilities. Open Style Lab 2016 fellows and clients. New
… READ MOREGazeSpeak runs on a smartphone and uses artificial intelligence to convert eye movements into speech, so a conversation partner can understand what is being said in real time. The eyes say it all. GazeSpeak, Enable Team, Microsoft
… READ MOREFor all the talk of self-driving vehicles revolutionizing transportation, the technology promises to do even more for the elderly and disabled by allowing them to enjoy sustained independence. Autonomous vehicles will allow aging Baby
… READ MOREThe OrbIT controller was custom designed to help children with cerebral palsy. David Hobbs photo. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability, affecting more than 34,000 Australians, and more than 17 million
… READ MOREResearchers at the University of Michigan (UM) are implementing a new orthotics and prosthetics outfitting system: 3D printed assistive devices that will be customized to individual patients’ needs and reach them faster than ever
… READ MOREKnee pain is common in children with CP, but given the many health challenges facing this patient population, knee symptoms may not be given high priority. Proper diagnosis and treatment of knee pain, however, can be key to maximizing
… READ MORERobert Marchand rides 22.547 kilometres in 1 hour. Nearly a century ago, Robert Marchand was told by a coach that he should give up cycling because he would never achieve anything on a bike. He proved that prediction wrong again on
… READ MOREI love how designer Manuel Hess put it… “a walker doesn’t have to look like a disease itself.” Harsh but SO true! His proposal for a walker, called PROSUS, ditches the stigma and is instead designed with dignity in mind. By
… READ MOREWHILL, the leader in intelligent personal electric vehicles (EVs), presents its new FDA-cleared vehicle, the Model M, at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. Whill, January 4, 2017 The Model M features patented omni-wheel technology to
… READ MORE‘It’s been really neat to watch because we never thought we would see it.’ Evelyn Moore, an Edmonton toddler who suffered paralysis after a tumour developed on her spine, is now standing on her own two feet with the
… READ MOREUnlike most cold-climate wheelers, Dave Kott can’t wait until the first snowfall at his Minnesota home. It’s then that he can put to the test his newly improved, homemade snow plow that runs with the use of actuators, similar to
… READ MOREExperimental treatment improves grip, finger motion up to 300 percent in quadriplegics. Stimulator Bypasses Spine Injury, Helps Patients Move Hands. An experimental procedure involving an implanted spinal stimulator is showing early
… READ MOREToyota and Segway inventor Dean Kamen have teamed to produce this stair-climbing, self-balancing, all-terrain mobility ninja. iBOT – An advanced mobility system restoring freedom and dignity. DEKA Research BBC 25 May 2016 A
… READ MOREApparel manufacturers could play a vital role in helping people with disabilities navigate barriers. Approximately half of the respondents reported that they have declined to participate in activities or events because they lacked or
… READ MOREThe Liftware Level is a motorized utensil that automatically bends itself to counteract involuntary hand movements, to allow people afflicted with disorders like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease to feed themselves.
… READ MOREJust like other children learn how to crawl, Evelyn slowly figured out how to wheel. Evelyn Moore at Treehouse, an indoor playground in northeast Edmonton that she often visits with her mom. With no wheelchairs small enough for baby
… READ MORECrossing over a lush grassy meadow on my handcycle, I stop on the wooden walkway to take in my surroundings — new spring growth on the trees juxtaposed with the sun’s illumination of giant granite walls. The thunderous sound of
… READ MOREThe two ends connect themselves, lock together and stay together. – Scott Peters Under Armour MagZip You might’ve heard about Under Armour’s crazy new zipper that only requires one hand to zip. Though the futuristic magnetic
… READ MOREAdding scribes is even better. Scribe Warren Lam (right) works on notes, as attending physician Dr. Laura Burke (center) and Dr. Daniel Willner discuss a patient case, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Emergency Department on
… READ MOREElectronic health records slow doctors down and distract them from meaningful face time caring for patients. Hidden treasure. View from behind a cataloging desk, Army Medical Library, Washington, DC, ca. 1955. National Library of
… READ MOREThe OpenNotes movement is excited to share a milestone — 10 million Americans can now read their medical notes securely online. Overwhelmingly, patients agree that reading their notes helps them feel more in control of their health
… READ MOREThe world that existed before the ADA is still fresh in the mind of J.R. Harding. Paralyzed in a 1982 schoolyard fight, Harding, a C5 quadriplegic, had to work hard for the life he wanted. A friend of high-profile politicians, a
… READ MOREDevice is like having a mouse inside your mouth. Emma Mogus says the device she created works by putting five buttons inside a mouthguard-type device. Each button corresponds to a different function: up, down, left, right, and enter.
… READ MOREThere is no doubt about it: braces are a pain. Sometimes they are a literal pain, causing pain for your child. And sometimes they are a more figurative pain in the rear end—difficult to deal with, difficult to get on and off,
… READ MORESix years ago in Raleigh N.C., Maura Horton received a call from her husband, Don, the assistant football coach at North Carolina State. He was on the road for a game and having so much trouble buttoning his shirt, he had to ask a
… READ MOREObi is a robotic arm designed to help people with physical disabilities to feed themselves. Robotic cooking aids are gaining traction in the modern kitchen, but the team behind Obi has a goal more noble than just cooking up a gourmet
… READ MORESteve Saling, an architect and engineer with ALS, helped design features of the Leonard Florence Center, Dapper McDonald ALS Residence, intended to preserve the independence of those with ALS, where he is a resident. Josh Reynolds for
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