Custom Assistive Devices at The Ohio State University Mechanical Engineering Department and Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

0755871 Siston The purpose of this proposal is to implement a program at The Ohio State University that enables seniors enrolled in a capstone design series in the Mechanical Engineering Department to partner with clinical collaborators from the Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital to design and prototype custom assistive devices for persons with disabilities. During the three-year period of this proposal, we will combine the expertise in design of a Top 25 engineering school with the excellence in patient care of a Top 10 rehabilitation hospital. Ohio State Mechanical Engineering seniors have previously produced robust industrially sponsored projects through a year-long senior capstone design series. We will modify this existing course to teach Mechanical Engineering students to work with Allied Medicine students, persons with disabilities, professional engineers, machinists, electrical technicians, and engineering and clinical faculty and staff to collectively design custom-made assistive devices. Students will not only learn the basics of engineering design (e.g., defining customers? needs, brainstorming and visual thinking, sketching for creativity, engineering ethics, oral and written communication, design of experiments, prototyping techniques, etc.) but will also learn about movement disorders, basic anatomic terminology, performing responsible research with human subjects (including the roles of the IRB and HIPAA), ethics in medical research, and the regulatory process of medical devices. Seven devices will be designed each year and will be chosen based on conversations with the interdisciplinary instructional team and patients at Dodd Hall Rehabilitation Hospital. Potential projects include an instrumented wheelchair for the visually impaired, a modified hand cycle, dressing assistants for women following stroke, and a mobile arm support for children with cerebral palsy.