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The Application of Selective Laser Sintering Techniques to Improve the Functional Mobility for Those with Lower-Limb Disabilities
Professor Richard R. Neptune, The University of Texas, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Applies the Laser Sintering process to improve components in three main areas: ankle-foot orthosis and amputee prosthetic socket and foot-ankle devices.
They developed an SLS-based manufacturing framework to produce subject-specific orthoses in which the stiffness characteristics can be adjusted for individual patients at a fraction of the cost.
The number of fittings necessary is also significantly reduced, saving patients time and aggravation.
Prototypes are currently being tested and will undergo clinical evaluation at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD, in the summer of 2005.
All Kids Playground
National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Detroit Section, Michigan
Completed in June 2003, All Kids Playground is a state-of-the-art play structure, which accommodates all children regardless of their physical, sensory and/or developmental limitations.
It is designed to be safe enough for children with disabilities, sturdy enough for wheelchairs and fun enough for kids and parents of all abilities to play together.
The playground features rubber surfacing, an enclosed slide with Plexiglas windows, bridges between playscapes, an aboveground sandbox that is wheelchair accessible, and rocking horses and swings with backboards for extra support.
HomeSaver1 Stove Sensor
Lee Eisinger, Ohio
The HomeSaver1 Stove Sensor is a motion-sensing device designed to shut off an electric stove if left unattended.
It is equipped with a flashing light and audible tone for alerting the user, including visually or hearing impaired individuals, that they have left their electric stove for too long a period of time.
If the user does not return to the electric stove during the eight-minute cycle, the HomeSaver1 stove sensor shuts off the power to he stove.
It is designed to serve as a passive device that requires no programming or intervention on the part of the user unless it is activated.
It can be added to existing appliances.
Manufacture of the device began in April 2004.
A Universally Accessible Treehouse at Crotched Mountain
Forever Young Treehouses, Inc., Vermont
Forever Young Treehouses promotes the construction of treehouses that are universally accessible.
This treehouse is located at the Crotched Mountain Foundation in Greenfield, New Hampshire, and was completed in January 2004.
The treehouse is used daily by students at the school and classes are held in the treehouse.
The treehouse is ADA-compliant and safe, unique in character and craftsmanship and uses building methods that protect the health of the trees.
Most children and young adults in wheelchairs have never been in a treehouse, nor taken a walk in the woods.
The long ramp leading up to the treehouse affords these children an opportunity to enjoy nature.
Forever Young Treehouses helped control costs to the foundation by facilitating volunteer labor.
BoardSpeaker
Afforda Speech, Canada
BoardSpeaker uses a system of Dynamic Overlay paper picture cards that contain embedded digital information.
Because each picture card holds all of the message information related to it, the picture and its information cannot ever become disassociated.
In order to retrieve the information embedded inside the high-density 2D barcode, a specialized miniature camera system is used.
The decoded information is then sent to the text-to-speech synthesizer to be played back when activated by the user.
The picture cards are stored in a drawer that holds as many as 40 picture cards.
The Boardspeaker is battery operated, small, durable and easy to use.
It can be utilized as a method of communication, an electronic learning product, self-narrating storybooks, etc.
It has been available commercially since May 2004.
Bruno Lift-Up Power Mobility Seat
Bruno Independent Living Aids, Inc., Wisconsin
The Bruno Lift-Up Power Mobility Seat is a full-powered, rotating-and-lowering mobility seat designed for the 2004 Toyota Sienna Minivan.
The seat provides vehicle access to people with physical disabilities, seniors or anyone who has difficulty getting in or out of a minivan.
It is fully integrated into the vehicle and allows seamless accessibility for a wide range of users.
It can be installed in the front passenger and middle right passenger positions and is operated by a handheld pendant with the push of a button.
The front passenger seat side air bag function is maintained.
The Lift-Up can be removed from the Sienna for resale and reinstalled in a newer model Sienna.
IBM's Web Adaptation Device
IBM Accessibility Center, California
Despite standards for Web accessibility, many Web pages remain difficult to use.
IBM Research is investigating a method of making Web pages accessible without requiring the use of assistive technologies.
Key features of the technology are: dynamic manipulation of Web content - no need to rewrite pages; transformations in combination - addresses users who have multiple limitations; portable personal preferences – placed on a server, transformations can be accessed from any computer with no special devices required; and an easy-to-use interface – accommodates users new to computing.
This technology enlarges the content of Web pages, tailors the font to meet individual needs, reduces visual clutter, facilitates input by both keyboard and mouse, has easy to use key features and makes complex page transformations simpler for the user.
IKAN Bowler
MGT Corporation, Florida
The IKAN Bowler is the world's first and only dynamic, barrier-free wheelchair bowling system.
Invented by a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic and a retired General Motors engineer, the IKAN bower attaches directly to a wheelchair and mimics the same reaction as if the bowling ball was released from someone's hand.
Because of this unique distinction, both the American Bowling Congress and the Women's International Bowling Congress amended their rules of play to recognize the IKAN Bowler as an acceptable device capable of allowing even high-level quadriplegics to compete with able-bodied bowlers in league play.
Sanyog: A Multilingual Iconic Communication System for Children with Severe Speech and Multiple Disorders
Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India
Sanyog accepts icons as input from the user and forms syntactically and semantically correct natural language sentences in Indian languages like Bengali and Hindi as well as in English.
It can be used by speech-impaired individuals or by people with SSMI allowing them means to form their own messages and speak them out.
It is also an excellent device for children with Autism.
Wheelchair Backpack Holder and Retriever
Chandler Macocha, Michigan
The Wheelchair Backpack Holder and Retriever was developed by a 12-year-old boy for the NSTA/Sears Craftsman Young Inventors Awards Program.
Chandler was the national winner.
This invention is very easy to use for individuals with control of their arms and designed to be attached to any standard wheelchair without modification to the chair.
It is flush to the wheelchair when not in-use to avoid interference with any other part of the wheelchair.
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2004 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
James R. Harding II Ed. D.
Tallahassee, Florida
A two-time survivor of spinal cord injuries, Dr. Harding lives with quadriplegia.
He earned two higher education degrees despite these challenges.
He has dedicated his life to promoting employment, inclusion and full participation for those with disabilities.
He works full-time for the Florida Department of Education in the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
He was appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Access Board and has served on it since 2002.
He educates lawmakers and the public regarding vocational rehabilitation services.
Dr. Harding is also a disability consultant.
In his spare time, he is involved with community advocacy issues/leadership activities.
Because of his acute understanding of living with disabilities, Dr. Harding empowers others to overcome their own unique challenges.
He truly believes that an individual with a disability is equal, in every sense of the word, to a non-disabled person.
He has received numerous honors and awards for his activism and achievements.
2004 SPIRIT OF DA VINCI™ AWARD
Erin Brady Worsham
Nashville, Tennessee
Erin Brady Worsham demonstrates the true "Spirit of da Vinci™," using assistive technology in a creative manner to achieve her dreams.
Quadriplegic as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), she is paralyzed below the neck, has only minimal movement above her neck and breathes with a ventilator.
Despite her physical limitations, she is an accomplished artist, creating vibrant and compelling computer-generated art utilizing a wire attached to her eyebrows.
Each painting takes her about 250 hours to complete.
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