|
Home |
Kamraun
 |
|
|
Kamraun is mainstreamed in a public school
system. He has CP along with other debilitating conditions. He is non-verbal. Therapists at a local rehabilitation hospital and
an associated outreach organization provided him with a laptop computer and
software to allow him to cause the computer to speak for him. That
hardware and software needed to be designed and incorporated into a
usable system for his wheelchair. We designed a workstation table,
adapted the wheelchair power system, added amplified speakers and
integrated the total into a system that will allow Kamraun to communicate
and learn in the public schools that he will attend. |
 |
Rusty
|
 |
Wheelin' Sportsmen, a program within the National
Wild Turkey Federation, provides people with a wide variety of
disabilities to enjoy outdoor activities, including hunting and fishing.
We have established a partnership with them to provide custom technology
to allow people with disabilities to participate in these activities.
Typical of the devices designed and fabricated are gun supports for
wheelchairs, aiming devices and a wheelchair accessible shooting bench. We
are also mentoring a senior design project at the USC Department of
Mechanical Engineering to design a family of trigger actuators that will
allow those who cannot pull a trigger in a conventional way to shoot. |
|
Before:
Shooting Bench Requirement
 |
After:
Enabletech Designs Gun Support
 |
Potty
|
A lady who has arthritis so severe that her legs
are stiff at the knees (and stiffly braced), could stand from her bed and
"shuffle" to another location with the help of a crutch. But she could not
sit, because she could not bend her knees. Most distressing was her
inability to sit herself onto the toilet. Search for commercially
available devices to assist in toilet sitting and raising revealed many
that helped those that could bend their legs, but none that accommodated a
person with stiff legs. A device was designed and fabricated that could
seat her and lift her, via her operation of a remote switch. It can be
stored at the toilet or at her bedside. When at her bedside, she can enter
and be secured in it there, and a caregiver can cam down casters on the
device and wheel her into the bathroom and to the toilet, where she can
operate the seating and lifting functions herself. |
 |
Sports Programs
|
A local rehabilitation hospital has a comprehensive
program of sports programs for those with disabilities. Golf is among the
activities supported. We designed and fabricated a stander that allows
those who can transfer from wheelchairs or who just need added support to
a standing position. They are unimpeded by the structure of the stander
when swinging a golf club, and the stander is adjustable to accommodate
various individual needs. |
 |
Productive Tools
Many counties in this region have programs and
facilities that both care for and train or employ those with disabilities
to be useful workers. We have studied and designed special fixtures and
tooling to allow those with physical limitations to perform specific
assembly line tasks. Many of our volunteers are employed by or come from
manufacturing businesses, so they are well trained in the disciplines of
industrial and manufacturing engineering. In combination with therapists
either employed by the county or non-profit doing the work, or those who
volunteer for us, special tools and work stations are developed to allow
some even severely limited individuals to be productive.
|