Successful Tech Transfer of the SMARTWheel : a force and moment measuring tool that substitutes for a wheelchair wheel. The SMARTWheel is used to measure pushrim forces and can be fitted on most wheelchairs. It provides support for the study of wheelchair propulsion biomechanics, evaluation of accessible surfaces, for clinical evaluations of manual wheelchair use, and support for standards for the built environment. A private company that has sold four units is now manufacturing the SmartWheel. This effort will lead to the SmartWheel becoming the standard by which all wheelchair propulsion kinetic data is collected.
We worked with the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) to transfer the our invention, entitled “Oblique Angled Suspension Caster Fork for Wheelchairs”. This device helps to effectively dampen road shock and vibration experienced by wheelchairs and their users: Blauch C, Cooper RA, Guo S, McCartney M, Wolf E, Dvorznak MJ, Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Elastomers in an Oblique Angled Suspension Caster Fork for Wheelchairs, 25th Annual RESNA Conference, Minneapolis, MN, 2002.
We published a landmark study on how to filter wheelchair kinematic data that is being used by nearly all wheelchair biomechanics studies to condition data: Cooper RA, DiGiovine CP, Boninger ML, Shimada SD, Koontz AM, and Baldwin MA, Filter Frequency Selection for Manual Wheelchair Biomechanics, Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp.323-336, 2002.
Publication on a summary of wheelchair and mobility devices to assist people with Multiple Sclerosis: Fay B, Boninger ML, The Science Behind Mobility Devices for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis, Medical Engineering and Physics, Vol. 24, No. 6, pp. 375-383, July 2002.
We published an important study on the control of the novel pushrim activated power assist wheelchairs describing critical control features that is being used to develop these products and to support the development of international tests standards: Cooper RA, Corfman TA, Fitzgerald SG, Boninger ML, Spaeth DM, Ammer W, Arva J, Performance Assessment of a Pushrim Activated Power Assisted Wheelchair, IEEE Transactions of Control Systems Technology, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 121-126, 2002.
We completed a critical portion of the Independence 3000 IBOTTM Clinical Study used as part of the FDA submission: Cooper RA, Boninger ML, Cooper R, Dobson AR, Use of the Independence 3000 IBOT Transporter at Home and in the Community: A Pilot Study, Journal of Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, in press, 2002.
We published a study showing that there are differences in risk for developing upper extremity repetitive strain injury associated with stroke pattern. Stroke pattern is an alterable variable through training: Boninger ML, Souza AL, Cooper RA, Fitzgerald SG, Koontz AM, Fay BT, Propulsion Patterns and Pushrim Biomechanics in Manual Wheelchair Propulsion, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 718-723, 2002.
We led the effort of ISO 7176-20 “Determination of the Performance of Stand-Up Type Wheelchairs” to become a Draft International Standard (DIS).
We successfully recruited Dr. Donald M. Spaeth as a VA investigator within our Center. Dr. Spaeth has applied for an Associate Investigator Award to work with Dr. Cooper. Dr. Spaeth is an expert in interface devices for assistive technology. He has many years of clinical rehabilitation engineering service delivery experience.
One of our graduate students, Diane Collins, OTR/L, MS, received a VA fellowship based on work from our Center. Ms. Collins received a pre-doctoral VA Fellowship to extend our work examining the efficacy of service dogs. She should graduate in the Spring of 2003 and is likely to become a new investigator within our Center at that time.