Rehabilitation Engineering and

Assistive Technology

Richard L. Goldberg
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and Duke University
Outline
 What is rehabilitation engineering?
 Influence of disability rights movement
and federal legislation
 Overview of rehabilitation engineering
research areas
 Projects built by UNC and Duke
students
 Conclusion
 What is Rehabilitation
Engineering?
Rehabilitation Engineering and
Assistive Technology Society
of North America

 Rehabilitation engineering
 the application of science and technology to
improving the quality of life of people with
disabilities.
 Assistive technology (AT):
 products, devices or equipment … that are used
to maintain, increase or improve the functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities (1998
Tech Act)
 What do rehab engineers do?
 Work in
 research lab
 clinic
 industry (i.e. product development lab)
 Work with
 Clients and their families, teachers, employers
 Health care providers (MD, OT, PT, SLP)
 More clinical work than other engineering
fields
 Engineers must learn how to work with people
with disabilities
 Disability rights movement
 In parallel with civil rights, centered at
Berkeley
 In 1962, Ed Roberts admitted to Berkeley
 In 1971, Center for Independent Living opened in
Berkeley
 Before 1970s, people with disabilities were not
visible in our society
 Since then, people with disabilities have been
able to integrate
 This has helped to fuel the growth in
rehabilitation engineering
 Civil rights legislation

1973 1990
Rehabilitation Act Americans w/Disabilities Act (ADA)

1973 2003

Civil rights

 Granted civil protections to people with disabilities

 Cannot exclude individual from school, job, etc.
because of their disability
 Education Legislation
1990
1975 Americans w/Disabilities Act (ADA)
Education for the Handicapped Act
1973
Rehabilitation Act 1986 1990 1997
EHA Amendment IDEA IDEA ‘97

1973 2003

Civil rights Education

 Guarantees the right to a “free, appropriate public

education” for all children
 Inclusion – children w/disabilities in regular classroom
 OT, PT, SLP services must be provided in school
 Assistive Technology
Legislation
1990
1975 Americans w/Disabilities Act (ADA)
Education for the Handicapped Act 1988
Tech Act
1973
Rehabilitation Act 1986 1990 1997 1998
EHA Amendment IDEA IDEA ‘97 Tech Act ‘98

1973 2003

Assistive
Civil rights Education
technology

 Provided federal funds to states to develop programs

for training and delivery of AT
 i.e. NC assistive technology project, Pennsylvania
Initiative on AT
Source: University of Buffalo Assistive Technology Training Online Project (ATTO)
 Research areas
Augmentative Computer access
communication

                                             
 Research areas
Ergonomics Prosthetics and Orthotics
Research areas
Recreation
transportation
 Research areas
Seating and wheeled mobility Sensory aids (hearing, vision)
 Research areas
Universal design

The design of products and environments to be

usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible,
without the need for adaptation or specialized
design.
Source: NCSU Center for Universal Design
http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/
UNC and Duke projects
 Project ideas proposed by health care
provider in the community
 Students in Rehabilitation Engineering Design
class develop custom device in one semester
 Device is delivered to client free of charge
 Project development
 Assess the abilities and limitations of the client
 Propose a device that meets their needs
 Ongoing interaction with client, family and
therapists
 Safety is crucial
Pop beads for clients at
preschool
 Public preschool for
children with a variety of
disabilities
 Teachers use pop-beads
to promote better motor
control, arm strength,
eye-hand coordination
 Problem: connecting pop-
beads gets boring!
 Sensory stimulation pop beads
 Beads light up, vibrate, and play
a song for 5-10 seconds when
connected or disconnected
 This makes the task more fun

Inside of bead Battery recharging stand

 Communication device for “Chris”
 Chris was born with a genetic
condition that resulted in a variety
of physical and cognitive limitations
 Uses a walker or crawls to move
around the classroom
 Unable to speak intelligibly
 Uses a simple communication
device
 Cannot access switches on
commercial portable device
 Portable comm. device
 We developed a portable
device, built into a
denim vest
 He could play back
message by pulling on
one of 4 key chains
 Teacher or parent could
re-record these
messages
 Sensory stimulation for “Jenny”
 Jenny is a 3 year old girl with athetoid
cerebral palsy
 She has poor arm and trunk strength
 Her PT requested a device that used
sensory stimulation to encourage her
to reach forward and up
 Commercial devices were not
appropriate
 Jenny’s “sound wall”
 Five modular blocks
 Motorcycle handlebar
 Spinning flower
 Record / play
 Telephone
 Blank
 Commercial products
were adapted so that
she could access
them
 Work chair for “Emma”
 Emma is an adult with autism who works at
Orange Enterprises
 She is 3 ft. tall
 She needs a chair that is at an appropriate
height for a 30” work surface
 She needs to get in and out of her chair
safely
 She doesn’t have strength to “de-weight” a
standard office chair or “pump up” a
barbershop chair
 It must be simple to use because she gets
upset when her routine is changed
 Retractable steps
 Uses file drawer slides,
springs, and pulleys
 When chair rotates, it
changes the angle of the
file drawer slides
 Simple, safe,
Face forward, Turn to side, and
and steps retract steps extend inconspicuous
 Orientation device
 Preschool age children who are
blind need to navigate around
the home and classroom
 Young children do not have the
cognitive ability to use
ultrasonic cane or other
commercial devices
 They need a simple device that
helps them to navigate
 AODie:
Acoustic Orientation Device
 5 beacons placed at different
“landmarks”
 i.e. desk, bathroom, etc.
 Child holds control box
 Box has 5 raised buttons, each
with a different shape, that
correspond to 5 beacons
 When a button is pressed:
 The corresponding beacon “beeps”
 The control box plays a prerecorded
message, i.e. “this is your desk”
 Simple to use!
 Conclusions
 Rehabilitation engineering and assistive
technology can improve the quality of life for
people with disabilities
 Students have designed, built, and delivered
a variety of custom assistive devices
 Students have applied their engineering skills
to address a real need for an individual
 Response has been very positive, although
there has been no formal evaluation of
success
 Acknowledgements
 Students in Rehabilitation Engineering Design
class at UNC and Duke
 Teachers and therapists
 Clients and their families who inspired the
projects
 Larry Bohs and Kevin Caves at Duke
 Funded by NSF grant BES-9981867 and UNC
Ueltschi Service Learning grant
Any questions?
 Resources
 UNC web site:
http://www.bme.unc.edu/~rlg/rehabDesign
 Duke web site:
http://www.duke.edu/~lnb/bme260
 NSF web site: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/