Student Design for People with Disabilities

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

0610534 Bohs This award supports the continuation of a successful program at Duke University, in which students design and build custom assistive devices for people with disabilities. The objectives of the design activities are to enhance engineering education, provide students with insight into careers in rehabilitation, improve the quality of life of people with disabilities, and serve the community. Students undertake creative, real-world designs as they develop one-of-a-kind assistive, recreational, and therapeutic devices for clients with disabilities. In that context, the Undergraduate Design Projects activity uses the Duke University Devices for People with Disabilities educational course, which is offered to undergraduate students in Biomedical Engineering both fall and spring semesters. In addition to this capstone design experience, the course provides students with exposure to engineering design procedures and ethics. The overall program also helps establish and strengthen ties between the university, the local community, and national rehabilitation organizations. The successful telecommunications classroom shared by the Duke design projects activity and the Rehabilitation Engineering Design course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be continued. Results of the work will be disseminated formally through three avenues: 1) student presentations at the annual RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America) conference; 2) student presentations at the regional Tech Expo conference, and 3) the annual publication Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons with Disabilities. The most direct societal benefits of the proposed work will be to the project clients, who will receive custom devices to aid them in their everyday lives.