Assistive Technology Transfer Update

As we approach a new Millennium, nearly all adult Americans unless they have consciously avoided anything technical can recognize aspects of their lives which have been changed, presumably for the better, by "space age" devices and materials. However, if you examine the "Durable Medical Equipment" used by people with disabilities who require wheeled assistance to move from place to place, only modest improvements have occurred in the last few decades. Most wheelchairs, with or without power, still are essentially small movie directors' chairs with metal frames and footrests, rolling on bicycle and serving cart wheels; and most scooters are, more-or-less, miniaturized three-wheel electric golf carts. Occasionally you may notice an exotic wheelchair that lets the user rise to a standing position or which rides over shallow curbs, but these tend to be rare, astoundingly expensive, and almost never covered by insurance or government funding sources.

We of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer (T²RERC) in Buffalo, New York noted that bright new ideas for the use of technology are constantly being generated from academic researchers, private industry, government agencies and other investigators. Historically, though, relatively little of this innovation tends to be applied to assistive devices for people with disabilities such as wheelchairs and scooters! This may change to a degree, ultimately as the result of one spectacular merging of talents, at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, Pittsburgh University Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in late May.

The Key: Input from All Stakeholders

Nearly 100 manufacturers, researchers, clinicians, government officials, advanced technology developers and product customers with disabilities, collectively called "stakeholders", pooled their considerable expertise in a "Stakeholder Forum on Wheeled Mobility". This visionary event was conducted by the T²RERC at the University at Buffalo, the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheeled Mobility (RERC-WM) of the University of Pittsburgh, Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in North Carolina and other agencies. Its goal was to identify the unmet needs of the consumers who use wheelchairs or scooters and resolve them by employing advanced technologies from Federal Laboratories, or other sources.

"The Stakeholders Forum on Wheeled Mobility brings together a collection of expertise from the end user to the Federal Labs to researchers within the disability community." The event's potential was thus described by William Peterson, the Program Manager of the RERCs for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education, who came from Washington, D.C. to give the keynote address. He continued, "And by putting all of those resources together ... we'll identify some technologies that we can then move forward through the research process and come up with some products that will help people with wheeled mobility (needs)."

A retired Mechanical Engineer and occasional consultant to the University of Pittsburgh, who has served as the Acting Director of NIDRR, Dr. James Reswick, of McLean, Virginia, brought his considerable experience to the Forum. Overall, he was pleased with both the achievable-in-the-short-term nature of the goals set by the organizers and the broad range of background of the participants. Comparing it with events which he attended during his tenure at NIDRR, he stated, "I've been to all of the wheelchair meetings. I think, probably, this is the most 'stakeholderish' meeting that I've ever been to. (The past) meetings often have been more focused on the technical issues that the NIDRR has been interested in. This one having such an eclectic composition, in my judgement, represents something of a first."

The Event's Foundation

The participants were building on the efforts of a group of expert stakeholders who had examined the current state of wheelchairs and scooters, and had defined four areas which offered significant potential for improvement through identifying and applying new or improved technologies. "White papers" were written on each of the four areas: 1) Power Management and Monitoring; 2) Materials & Sub-Systems (such as tires, seats, and wheels); 3)ÊMotors and Drive Trains; and 4) Manual Wheelchair Propulsion (such as, improved wheel "push rims".)

Having studied the white papers, each participant in the group sessions took part in discussions of two of the technology areas, to identify the limitations of existing wheeled mobility devices and their related components, and then develop specifications for the technical solutions to make them better products. The unique aspect of this Forum was that each stakeholder brought his/her own experience to bear in exploring ways those limitations may be resolved by "technology transfer". The organizers define this process as the application of existing systems of knowledge in new or novel ways, i.e., employing advanced technologies from Federal Laboratories, or other sources in different venues. The desired outcome: that truly useful innovative equipment should eventually reach the marketplace where it can better the lives of people with disabilities.

The T²RERC Team Leaders

The Coordinator of T²RERC's Demand-Pull Projects, Dr. Stephen M. Bauer of the University at Buffalo, was an organizer of the Stakeholder Forum. "Demand-Pull" efforts involve ongoing work to determine the various needs of end-users to be satisfied by the transfer of technology.

T²RERC Project Director Joseph P. Lane is excited about the event's anticipated ultimate accomplishments. "The technology transfer process permits us to leverage investments which have already been made in the nation's science and technical base. As it permit(s) us to target specific technologies which require substantial improvement, we expect the Stakeholder Forum to generate opportunities for applying breakthrough technologies to the wheeled mobility industry."

The event was also an exciting opportunity for the Forum participants, who benefited by: participating in a review of the state-of-the-art of wheeled mobility; helping to define new technology requirements; pursuing or reviewing the results of a search for desired technologies, identifying new commercialization, development and research opportunities, and networking with the other participants.

The Forum's Attendees Say...

Saleem Sheredos, the Program Manager for Technology Transfer, of the Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service in Baltimore, Maryland felt that the stakeholders' interactions could move the creative process forward. "A forum such as this is one mechanism to get the communications going between the customary researcher and developer, and manufacturer in wheeled mobility with some of the good technologies that exist elsewhere; in the federal systems, especially. ... This type of forum is good to identify specifications on what we'd like to see happen in terms of assistive technologies that can be transferred or utilized in the development of rehabilitation (applications.)"

One participant, Dr. Daniel Repperger, of the Armstrong Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, described how the information shared by the stakeholders would benefit his work. "I learned so much from the users... We think we know what the problems are, but until we really get in there and do the clinical work, it's really much different than what you think it is. (The Forum has been) a real learning experience. ...I talked to a lot of disabled people and tried to hear what the complaints were, because, we've got to listen. I learn by working in the 'rehab' area and I bring that knowledge back to the Air Force ... this is very helpful in understanding how to improve a military person's job, of working in a difficult environment."

Commercially Speaking....

On the civilian front, Scott Salis, Director of Electric Vehicles Products of MCG, Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, which manufactures motor control systems, appreciated the opportunity the Forum provided to listen to a good mix of people of different backgrounds. Getting to talk to users, manufacturers, clinicians gave us a pretty good perspective of the issues in the marketplace, more than (just) product-related issues. It met my expectations," Mr. Salis gained insights "just talking to customers and end (users). You get to talk to a lot of people to try to sift through what's important and what's not; and, I think, because of the quality of people here, you did get a very good snapshot of some of the needs." Although he had previously encountered the occasional stakeholder at trade shows and other events, at this Forum "the unique thing is more that they're all here, they're all put together for the purpose of this conversation, and I think that makes it very beneficial."

Another attendee from the commercial sector was Henry Tate, who works in Research and Development at Zap Power Systems of Sebastopol, California, a maker of electric bicycles, two-wheel scooters, and powered adult tricycles for individuals who cannot drive automobiles. His experiences at the Forum encouraged him in his intentions to eventually expand the company's product line for users of wheeled mobility products. "I've (formulated) some ideas about handrails [wheel rims] for manual wheelchairs, I'll continue on my scooter adapter for manual wheelchairs, for a power assist."

Consumers Contribute...

The exceptional access to manufacturers and researchers at the Forum was appreciated by one wheelchair user: E. Paul Dick, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the RERC on Wheeled Mobility in Pittsburgh, who helped recruit the event's participants with disabilities. "This certainly is an opportunity, as a consumer, to say, 'Hey, these are our needs. This is what I would like to see. This is what's wrong with what's available to me right now (and) this is what you can do to fix it.'"

The promise of the Stakeholders Forum was appreciated by the head of a national disability consumer organization, Nancy Starnes, Director of the Paralysis Society of America (PSA). "It's going to be very exciting (to the members of PSA) to find out that this kind of forum has taken place; that there are people taking a look at the innovations in technology that might be transferred and applied so we get better products; I've never been to anything quite like this. This has really been wonderful my expectations were certainly exceeded."

Moving Forward from the Forum

The organizers' extensive analysis of the information thus gathered yielded detailed statements describing the existing problems, and the specifications for proposed technical solutions. Falling into six specific areas (charging systems, battery and monitoring systems, geared hubs for manual wheelchairs, tires, motors, and transmissions), the complete descriptions of the problem statements can be accessed through our website on The Demand Pull Project on Wheeled Mobility.

When responses are received to these problems, the resulting opportunities for technology transfer will be screened and offered to participating manufacturers for transfer or development. The white papers, Forum proceedings and technology search results will be published and disseminated to all participants who can utilize them.

In addition to the RERCs, the Forum's sponsors included: their funder, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education; and the Federal Laboratory Consortium - Mid-Atlantic Region; in cooperation with: Research Triangle Institute; and two T²RERC partner agencies in Buffalo: AZtech and the Independent Living Center of Western New York.

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