Guest hosts Drs. Michelle Zorrilla and Julie Faieta bring you a unique episode recorded live on the exhibit hall floor at the 2023 RESNA Annual Conference. We present a lineup of remarkable innovators who are shaping the future of assistive technology. From veterans' support to home accessibility, each of these stories is a testament to the power of innovation and the dedication to improving lives.
Host : Dr. Michelle Zorrilla, Associate Director of Technology Translation, and Dr. Julie Faieta, Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Rehabilitation Science Researcher and Licensed Clinical Occupational Therapist
Guests: RESNA Developers' Showcase Teams (see below for more information)
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:13 Stephanie - VehiCLE
03:48 Wayne - Wall Storage
05:51 Leslie - Hummingbird
09:46 Karen - Work Access
13:04 Finn - Auli Tech
16:20 Nadine - Kinemo
21:01 Roger - MyAccessibleHome
25:07 Todd - PowerFlex
IMPACT Center | Website, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
1. VehiCLE by the Cleveland VA Technology Transfer Program - Stephanie Bailey | Website
2. Fully Accessible Wall Storage by Novabiz - Wayne Crowley | Website
3. The Hummingbird by the Prism Lab at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto - Leslie Mumford | Website
4. Work ACCESS by the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at Georgia Tech - Karen Milchus
5. Cato by Auli Tech - Finn Biggs | YouTube, Email,
6. Kinemo by Georgia Tech - Nordine Sebkhi | Website, LinkedIn
7. myAcessibleHome App by R2D2 Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - Roger Smith | Website
8. PowerFlex by Soul Mobility - Todd Hargroder | Website
Transcript | PDF
Michelle Zorrilla 00:00
Welcome to a special episode of ImpacTech. The podcast from the IMPACT Center at the University of Pittsburgh, supported by the National Institute of Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. On today's episode "Breaking Boundaries: Trailblazing Assistive Tech at the RESNA Developers Showcase." My colleague Dr. Julie Faieta, and I will be guest hosting as we bring you a unique episode recorded live on the exhibit hall floor at the July 2023 RESNA Annual Conference. Please bear with us if you hear a bit of background noise, after all, be captured these stories amidst the excitement of the event.
Julie Faieta 00:39
Today, we're thrilled to present a lineup of remarkable innovators who are shaping the future of assistive technology, from veteran support to homelessness ability. Each of these stories is a testament to the power of innovation, and the dedication to improving lives. Our interviews were conducted as part of the resonant developer showcase, and event of which the impact center is proud to be a sponsor. This is a platform that celebrates ingenuity and fosters collaboration, and we're excited to share these conversations with you.
Michelle Zorrilla 01:11
From the vibrant atmosphere of the exhibit hall floor in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is your guest host, Dr. Michelle Zorrilla, and welcome to the 22nd episode of the ImpacTech podcast series.
Julie Faieta 01:24
Each team will hear from today has embarked on a remarkable journey driven by their passion and dedication to empowering lives. Throughout our journey, we'll uncover themes that tie these stories together. One theme is the power of prototyping and user testing. From vehicle to ollie tech. These innovators invest time and energy into developing prototypes to undergo rigorous testing with users. Their commitment to refining their products through real world feedback is truly remarkable.
Michelle Zorrilla 01:57
Our journey begins with Stephanie Bailey and the vehicle team who are working tirelessly to turn VA clinicians ideas into tangible solutions. Let's hear how their creative prototypes are changing the lives of veterans.
Stephanie - VehiCLE 02:13
I've been a biomedical engineer at the Cleveland VA for the past 20 years 18 of those I did clinical research and since I've been the program manager for vehicle, what we do is we really bring VA clinicians ideas to life. We do that in the form mostly of prototyping devices, but also all the supporting documentation CAD renderings and such. One of the really great reasons I love working at the VA in particular with vehicle is the wide array. So we have a rich history in rehab r&d. So a lot of our products are geared towards helping people have had a stroke or some form of paralysis like a spinal cord injury, but we also have new ophthalmology products we've looked at in Planet bull cardiac devices as well. The best next steps for us are to continue to grow the team which allows us to then deliver more projects within the VA to support our inventors or clinicians and of course, our veterans, we usually like to license our technology developed in the VA and that additionally helps us spread it to the American public. Best way is really our website, which is a PT center dot research that va.gov/vehicle There we list all of our projects. Along with our capabilities, my email is also there as the point person to get in contact with.
Michelle Zorrilla 03:36
From there we move on to Wayne and the wall storage team. Wayne's invention is about more than just storage. It's about enabling wheelchair users to access convenience and freedom.
Wayne - Wall Storage 03:48
My name is Wayne Crawley, I'm with Novell products LLC, we have developed a fully accessible wall storage cabinet that uses a very innovative robotic technology to lower as much as three feet to be wheelchair accessible. There are primarily two distinct differences in our technology as to what's out there other products only lower straight down our products in robotics move outward, then downward to clear things beneath it. Plus similar products out there that only move down start at $2,500 and go up from there. We believe we can get this product down to $1,000 or less. There's a number of people that could use it anyone who is wheelchair accessible, who has an upper limb disability, who just needs more storage in their home, or wants to be able to access the storage that they already have. During prototyping. We actually prototype during COVID. And so I was not allowed to travel to the labs where they were building the products. So we had to do all video conferencing. But we got through it and we did it on time and on budget and had a tremendous outcome with our prototyping project. We are put together a research consortium of engineering and usability specialists. And we're going to pursue some more funding to finalize the product. We learned a lot during prototyping, and then some subsequent follow on testing. And now we've learned enough from that we want to improve the product, make it safe, make it highly usable, and very durable. And that will be what we pursue grant funding for. And then in the coming months, there's actually a website www.novare.biz. We're also on LinkedIn and you can also look us up on the social media websites that are out there today.
Julie Faieta 05:40
Now let's hear from Lesley and hummingbird team, their technology is giving a voice to those who haven't had one showing us that communication knows no bounds.
Leslie - Hummingbird 05:51
I am Leslie and the hummingbird is switch that was developed in the prison lab at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, it works by picking up on the vibrations in your vocal cords when you make a sound and it can be used for single or to switch access to any kind of a C program or switch accessible device. The population that's good to use the hummingbird are individuals that haven't been able to find a good switch or a good fit for Access Technology elsewhere. If you can use something like eye gaze, or you can use a touchscreen, and those are always going to be faster because it's a direct method of access. But if you are a switch user and the mechanical switches that are available, or sip and puff or anything else doesn't work for you, then a lot of our users who are nonverbal still maintain the ability to make a sound. So for them, it's an easy thing for them to do, they often use it as their yes response. So we can take advantage of that and use it for search access. It's a very niche part of the population that that doesn't have access to these things. But for those individuals, I mean, this works. And it's something that works. And it's not something that's available right now. So we really just want to get it out to them make it available so that people can buy it there. We do have users who use it all day long for their full time communication needs. And it's it's an integral part of their lives and their participation in society. We're taking several different avenues. So we're currently doing pre sales to raise some funding. And we're also looking at donors and other grant programs that we might be able to use to fund the initial production run. Once it's up and available, then it will be available for sale. We are also concurrently getting evaluated to be put on the assistive devices program list for the Ontario government. So if our evaluations go well, and we are accepted for that program, then that means in Ontario, the government would cover 75% of the cost and families would only have to cover 25%. Once those things are established, then we can look at getting that same kind of government recognition across other provinces and states. So it's been a very, very long work in progress almost 15 years because we are a research lab in a hospital, we're entirely Grant Space. So once the actual research part of the program, and then the funding ends. So there's no you know, product development funding that continues with that. So it's been a very long time figuring out how to get these prototypes and get a commercial version out there. But the commercialization office at the hospital opened a few years back and we started working with a design partner who has helped us come up with these newer prototypes that are much more appealing. But then of course, there's also the pandemic. So we had to switch all of our usability studies to virtual which worked out just took some time and then be supply and demand with the parts and the shortages of parts everywhere. So there's there's been a number of delays but we're really happy with where it's at right now. And yeah, just looking to get that initial that initial capital to go to production, you can find it@www.my hummingbird.ca
Julie Faieta 08:54
Another shared thread among these journeys is the challenges faced. Wayne's journey underlies this commonality, highlighting that the road to success is often marked by obstacles. The wall storage team, like their peers navigated prototype development during the pandemic and overcame supply chain disruptions. Their determination to continue iterative design based on user feedback shines through. Leslie story takes us deep into the world of communication SS ability, demonstrating the dedication required to develop innovative solutions.
Michelle Zorrilla 09:33
As we continue our journey let's dive into Karen's world of comprehensive workplace accommodations with the work access team. Their innovative assessment tool is transforming the way workplaces become more inclusive.
Karen - Work Access 09:46
My name is Karen Malchus. And I work for the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation at Georgia Tech. And one of the things that we discovered with our research on workplace accommodations is that two thirds of the P People that were responding to our surveys said that they hadn't gone through Voc Rehab and determining what their workplace accommodations are. So we wanted to be able to come up with some sort of tool that would help them figure out what types of accommodations might help them in their work. There aren't too many workplace accommodation assessment tools out there are where we're different is we take it a little further, we're looking at functional limitations. We also asked for information about what types of the other factors that might be taking place in the workplace, do you have a shared workstation is it noisy, things like that. And when we come up with our solutions, because we were trying to design this for employers and employees to use together, we wanted to provide a little warning when people might want to bring in an expert. So we have that too. We were originally designed designing this for employers and employees to use together and that could be someone who's starting a new job, or someone who maybe has been working for a while, but their abilities have changed. We are actually trying to come up with workplace accommodations that aren't limited to assistive technology. So assistive technology, but also strategies built environment, we're focused a little bit more on things that you would run into in a office environment. But many of those sorts of tasks carry over into other types of jobs. But as a result, we've our decision trees are quite long. And trying to make those easy for people to understand and trying to check those with people has been a little bit of a challenge. We are just finishing putting putting this together. We are hoping to launch this and in time for October's Disability Awareness Month about at that time is making it available for people to help us with field testing. We're gonna be looking first people to try it out and provide us with feedback about what they like and don't like about the system, they can contact me at through our Center's website, CIDI dot g a tch.edu. But they can also email me at Karen k r e n.mil, Charise, M I L c hu s at design dot g a te ch at Georgia tech.edu.
Julie Faieta 12:27
As we explore Karen's story, we encounter yet another shared aspect of these journeys, the need for funding to fuel their vision from work access to my assessable home. The potential impact of these solutions is immense. These innovators aren't just creating products, they're creating possibilities for greater independent accessibility, and quality of life.
Michelle Zorrilla 12:53
Moving forward, let's explore Finn's passion for technology and its potential to empower individuals with physical limitations. The LA tech teams gesture controller is a game changer.
Finn - Auli Tech 13:04
My name is Finn Biggs, I just graduated from UC San Diego with a degree in physics. The product that we have here today to show to the folks here at Resona is Kato. And it is a gesture controller, we have a demo set up for use as a computer mouse. It's really important these days to be able to control your digital devices. A lot of the digital interfaces that people use are not effective tools, head mice in particular, which is what we're building run into the problem of if you run out of range of motion, when you're turning your head, you can't always get where you're trying to go. And you can't go any further. The thing we do that's really interesting, is we take gestures, for example, you know, not up not down, tilt your head shake, yes, shake No, but not just on your head. gestures can come from anywhere on your body, like your knee or your foot. And the user can train their own gestures, and map them to whatever actions they need to control their environment. very personal to us is ALS. My my co founder Spiro here was diagnosed a few a few years ago. And so that's kind of where we started. But we're also looking at all sorts of foundations that can help us to both connect with beta users and the broader disability community to make sure everyone can get this product to help them interface with their computer. Programming is always challenging whenever you're building something. So just the concept of engineering, designing something is rife with challenges, in particular, this microcontroller that we were using, just dealing with all of these little, little quirks of No, that's not quite right, actually, it works like this. Another big challenge. is when we started talking with our first beta user, he just started identifying problem after problem is like, this doesn't work well for me. And as we've iterated through those changes, it's really satisfying to make something that actually feels good to us. But it's also really hard to say, Ah, this feature I thought was a great idea is, you know, the guy who we've lent it to is saying, No, I hate this. What's next for us is securing funding through different grants in order to make sure that we can continue our r&d and get this device in the hands of hopefully 1000 people over the next year or two. So they can come visit our website, all u dot tech au li.te ch, or they can email us at info at Ali dot tech.
Julie Faieta 15:46
Finn's journey aligns with another common thread we've seen today, the ongoing commitment to progress, as Finn and his team strive to enhance technology's impact. They like other teams are looking ahead to the next steps, continuing testing, seeking funding and planning for wider impact.
Michelle Zorrilla 16:07
Continuing our journey, let's delve into the world of wearable motion tracking with Kinemo. Developed by two research engineers from Georgia Tech, their innovation aims to provide newfound independence through motion control.
Nadine - Kinemo 16:20
Yeah, so my name is Nadine subkey. And my partner here Arpan. buffs are. So we are two research engineers from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. And we have been working for many years on a wearable motion tracking system. Okay, we want to be able to track the motion of the body using wearable sensors. So that's really where our work came from. And by looking at all the different application, we saw that the bigger needs for our technology will be people on power wheelchair to be able to use their body to control devices around them. And so this is how we create Timo Kinema is a portmanteau of kinematics and motion. And the idea of that system is to tap into the remaining motion of an individual that is on a power wheelchair in order for them to control their power wheelchair, but also digital devices around them. So Kinemo being a wearable system, it uses sensors that adhere to the skin. So for example, we can have one tracer that would be behind the ear. And that allows you to use head control to be able to control the joystick, or let's say a mouse cursor on a computer. The nice thing about the system is it's it's completely discreet, so the controller can hide underneath clothing, and the sensor can hide behind the ear, and everything can be kind of tucked away. So you're not bringing any added attention to yourself when you're using this alternative controller. So that's one big difference and other differences that we can place these sensors anywhere on the body where the user has remaining motion, so it doesn't just have to be the head. For example, if the user can shrug their shoulder can move their finger just a tiny bit, then we can place a sensor on that and use that as a switch. And so what I will add to that is what we're trying to do is take away from switches and control around the body. So everything is mounted on their windshield or whatnot, and try to put that on their body. So like this, they use their body as the controller instead of acting devices that is outside of the body. So it's uncluttering, the wheelchair and they can be then moved away from the wheelchair, because nothing is we're connected to the wheelchair, they can be moved away to the bed, and they can still continue controlling devices in any location that they are. But the impact we're trying to make is to bring this new technology that we call inertial sensors. This is something that you find in a lot of devices today in your smartphone, and you car planes, all of that has this type of sensors. And the sensors are becoming very big quitters today. So we want to bring those kinds of technology into this field. Right. And this is why you see an explosion of products and companies that use this kind of sensors. But the way that we want to make the impact is to enable the sensors to be placed anywhere that the user has a remaining motion. So the next step for us while we're working on spinning off a company out of Georgia Tech. So from here, what we're trying to do is to complete some user testing, mainly an uncontrolled or unsupervised environment. So we've done some testing in supervised environments and with able bodied participants. But we want to get to the point where we can send this device home to users have them mounted on their wheelchair and try it out in their home. And we could figure out, you know, what are different improvements that we need to make to the system. And then from there, we want to be able to package this device along with a permanent via wheelchair or quantum wheelchair or you know, get on their order forms in such a way that it's very easy for a user to be able to purchase whatever device is the same way they can purchase a switch or a wheelchair or anything like that. A lot of challenges. So we did complete some testing with for instance, the Shepherd Center trying out with people other than yourself. So for example, we have these tracers on our cheek and our eyebrows. And for us I can move my cheek pretty well I can move my eyebrows pretty well and as soon as you give it to an actual spinal cord injury patient, you realize what their you know their range of motion is so much more limited, and you can't really emulate that on yourself. So getting that data and realizing, wow, this really isn't working right now. So you really have to design. So that's really bringing in user centric design, we're trying to learn from the data that they have, you know, we're recording how they're moving their body, and we're trying to make changes on that. So it's just really this this iterative process where finally we have a device that we're comfortable with, where we could put it on anyone. And we know that we're pretty confident that it would work. Do we have a website, which is kinemo.io, Kinemo is K I N E. M, O, please go to that website, we have a contact page where you can contact us we want to hear from pretty much anybody, clinician, caregiver, and user of course, so any person involved in the chain of providing assistive technology to somebody in the power wheelchair, we want to hear from them.
Michelle Zorrilla 20:51
Next up, we have Roger and the my accessible home team, their consumer and professional apps are bridging the gap between Accessibility Assessment and tangible resources.
Roger - MyAccessibleHome 21:01
My accessible Home app is actually part of two apps, it is the consumer version of accessible home Pro. And so that's the professional master lots of questions for a complete home evaluation. And it's a app to be able to help the professional be able to be thorough, and comprehensive. And think of new occupational therapists or new physical therapy graduate, that is eager to get out into practice, and just need some guidance to help them kind of think through really complete home evaluation. That's what accessible home Pro is. This one is by accessible home because it's for the consumer. So the person who wants to age in place, or the person with a disability, they just got home for rehab, who wants to be able to do a real quick thinking about what oh, what's what's going to happen here with me in this home? And how can I sort of improve it? Is there anything I can do? Or are there some resources that I might need to be able to help figure out how I can really live a higher quality of life and more effectively at home, and that's what my accessible home is all about. Most of the competition for home evaluations are either like websites that are sort of just informational websites, they might have some checklists and things like that. For the professional side, there's lots of evaluations, a lot of them are paper and pencil. There's a few more now that are coming out with sort of, you know, app kind of base. But the consumer piece in terms of linking it to resources is pretty fresh, pretty new. And because we've based it with a really strong theoretical base, where we're looking at the person, and we're looking at the environment, and we're looking at the occupation or activities, that PEO model that's the foundation of the whole app, the professional side and the my accessible home. Oh, no, we haven't had a single challenge at all. This has been just fluid from day one. No, absolutely. Everything takes longer than one might imagine. And we actually thought we knew what we were doing. But its eyes rethinking and thinking deeper thinking broader when we started our last stage, because we actually have this is sort of our second round for accessible home apps. We, we knew we were going to do my accessible home is sort of the add in. So we kind of thought we knew because we had been working enough on the pro side. But it's really a whole new kind of thought process. Because it's a new, you know, the users are going to be different. And potentially, then the whole marketplace is different. And the whole tech transfer thinking is a lot different. So but we are looking at my accessible home as being free. It's for the individual who might be trying to be successful at home. But it pairs really nicely with the with the Pro. What's next. So we want to finish the app, we now have a pretty good prototype that's out there. We're doing some tweaking on the questions and the taxonomy. We've already started the design, we have a pretty good idea of how are the reports gonna go. But we're doing iterative testing, testing with users who are accessible home kind of evaluators, but also individuals who might be wanting to use the consumer side of it. And so we're really starting up on that testing side with with the potential users. We have a website at UW m.edu. So if you just Google RTD to center if you can do go R two D two, you'll get Star Wars. So you have to you have to google RTD to center and then to take a look at the Hestia and accessible home information that's there. That's that's the best way of finding home finding us.
Julie Faieta 24:50
Finally, we meet Todd and the Soble mobility power flex team who are redefining mobility options. Their unique power base attachment is bringing a Through hybrid lifestyle to manual wheelchair users, and powering them with newfound mobility options.
Todd - PowerFlex 25:07
The power flex attachment is a power base attachment that converts manual wheelchairs to power. By simply removing the rear wheels, it will plug into the power base without tools or adapters. There's several other power base attachments, power assists on the market, but ours differs because it's a true joystick driven power attachment versus a straight line attachment. Majority of the power assists are straight line only. So you still have to brake and steer with this. It gives you true joystick control for steering, acceleration and braking etc. In any development, you run into challenges. That's that's what it's all about. It was easy, everybody be doing it. But it's it's been smooth. It's a long process. It's an expensive process. But it's a journey that we all have to travel to bring products to market to in one design. So it allows people to either push manually or go power. So you know, my impact I hope is to promote a dual purpose lifestyle, allowing people giving people the option to either Prowler chair manually or go full power. We are currently scheduled to start our 510 K testing in the next few weeks. And then we'll do our FDA submission and hopefully go to market by the end of the year. Go to our website, www dot Sol dash mobility.com. And you can see information about our products as well as our contact information true hybrid lifestyle and giving people the ability to you know power through life to all day long.
Julie Faieta 26:51
With Todd's narrative, our voyage through the resonance developer showcase interviews comes to a close along this journey we've unraveled a vibrant tapestry woven with ingenuity, determination and compassion. Each distinct path taken by these teams has illuminated a brighter horizon for assistive technology. Today's exploration has led us through the intricate landscape of innovation, unveiling the passion that propels creators to fashion inclusive, accessible and transformative solutions. These innovators are the architects of the future where technology nurtures independence, enriches life quality, and dismantles barriers, all through the power of invention.
Michelle Zorrilla 27:37
Thank you for joining us on this inspiring journey through innovation and impact at Reza, we hope these stories have ignited your own passion for making a difference. In our next episode, we'll hear more from Todd and Troy cofounders of soul mobility, developers of the power flex and this year's winners of the Impact Award at the resonant developers showcase. The impact award celebrates visionary creators whose groundbreaking products show great promise in enhancing independence and wellbeing. Until then, keep making an impact in whatever you do.
Mary Goldberg 28:12
If you'd like ImpacTech Please review us on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thank you again for tuning in and continue to make an impact in whatever you do. A quick note from our sponsors. IMPACT initiatives are being developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research. NIDILRR is a center within the Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services. IMPACT initiatives do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government and the same goes for the University of Pittsburgh. We would like to thank our ImpacTech guests and our production team led by Dr. Michelle Zorrilla at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology