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HERL QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER
Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2004
In This Issue...
- Letter From The Editor
- Current Research Abstracts
- Recent HERL Publications
- HERL In The Media
- Current Events
- Faculty Profile
- Featured HERL Student
- HERL
Students Participate in 2nd Tech-Link Robotics Camp:
- HERL Wants You to Share
Your Story:
- Featured Staff Member
- Receive
Newsletter By Email
- Study Participant Info
As our 10th anniversary approaches, we at HERL thoughtfully reflect on our
past, present, and future accomplishments. At the time this issue of the
newsletter is going to press, HERL staff will be eagerly preparing for the March
29th 10th anniversary celebration, which will coincide with HERL’s advisory
board meeting. We have invited many of our friends, supporters and collaborators
from the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, and the Department of Veterans Affairs,
as well as from many disability organizations and other research facilities and
companies we have worked with over the years. R. Lee Kirby, M.D., from the Nova
Scotia Rehab Centre in Canada, will be the keynote speaker at the celebration.
We will provide extensive coverage of the HERL 10th anniversary celebration and
advisory board meeting in the next (summer) issue of the newsletter.
HERL director Dr. Rory Cooper, Study Coordinator Rosemarie Cooper, Machinist
Mark McCartney, and HERL students Emily Zipfel and Jon Pearlman have just
returned from Kanpur, India. The team traveled to the Artificial Limb
Manufacturing Company (ALIMCO), the largest wheelchair manufacturer in South
Asia, as part of a NIDRR collaborative design project. Brig. General (Ret.)
Uppal, ALIMCO Chairman and Managing Director, presented the design team with the
“Restoration of the Dignity of Man Award” for their work in improving the design
of wheelchair and assisting with increasing their manufacturing capacity and
quality assurance programs. We will include a feature article about the India
trip in the summer newsletter.
We are proud to report many HERL faculty and students achievements and awards
since our last update. HERL Director Dr. Rory Cooper was a finalist for the 2004
Pittsburgh Healthcare Hero Award for Innovation and Research. HERL Medical
Director Dr. Michael Boninger was promoted to professor with tenure in the
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation with adjunct appointments in
the Departments if Rehabilitation Science and Technology and Bioengineering in
January. Dr. Boninger was also presented with the 2003 VA Stars and Stripes
Healthcare Network Annual Award for outstanding achievement in clinical research
in February. The PAVE Africa 7th International Conference on Concrete Block
Paving in South Africa bestowed their “Best Paper Award” to HERL for our paper
“Interaction of Wheelchairs and Segmental Pavement Surfaces” (Cooper RA, Wolf EJ,
Fitzgerald SG, Dobson A, Ammer WA, Smith DR). Student Ana Alegretti was granted
travel funding to present her paper, “Pelvic Positioning Evaluation for
Wheelchair Selection: A Comparison Between in-person Seating and Video
Conferencing,” at the 2004 International Seating Symposium in Vancouver, British
Columbia. Ana was one of 3 authors chosen to receive travel funding to present
at the conference. Finally, HERL student and distinguished athlete Ian Rice, a
member of the Pittsburgh Steelwheelers Rugby Team, made the all-tournament team
for his classification level and was voted the overall MVP of the Iron Horse
Rumble Tournament in Milwaukee in February. The Steelwheelers Rugby team placed
second in the tournament.
Everyone at HERL continues to thank you for your readership and interest and
participation in our research. Look for our next newsletter this summer!
-Christine Heiner, newsletter editor
Summary: Pittsburgh Wheelchair and Seating Biomechanics Research Program
Rory Cooper, Ph.D., Michael Boninger, M.D. , Dave Brienza, Ph.D., Linda van
Roosmalen, Ph.D., Alicia Koontz, Ph.D., Ed LoPresti, Ph.D. , Donald Spaeth,
Ph.D., Gina Bertocci, Ph.D., Songfeng Guo, Ph.D., Mary Ellen Buning, Ph.D., Mark
Schmeler, M.S., OTR/L, Mary Jo Geyer, Ph.D., Shirley Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Dan
Ding, Ph.D.
Full article published in the Journal of the Society of Biomechanisms, Vol. 27,
No. 3, pp. 144-157, 2003.
Wheelchairs and seating provide critical functions to millions of people with
disabilities. While there have been several important studies and new product
designs, progress has been limited by the lack of a consortium of talented and
dedicated investigators. The Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology (RST)
in the University of Pittsburgh has made a concerted effort to advance
wheelchair and seating biomechanics research. This overview of our research
program will help to convey the depth and breadth of the research that has been
conducted, as well as to provide some insight into future directions. Two of the
increasingly important aspects of our biomechanics research is the translation
of research findings into clinical practice while allowing consumer and clinical
needs to drive the research agenda, the other is to continue to expand the
impact of the studies whether through more comprehensive studies with large
sample sizes or through introducing new technologies. We provided an extensive
overview of 12 aspects of our research program:
1.
Wheelchair propulsion study
Purpose: to fully understand the mechanics of propulsion and to apply this
information in a clinically relevant fashion.
2. Transfer biomechanics study
Purpose: was to identify less strenuous transfer techniques and help individuals
with lower extremity dysfunction learn safer and less injurious transferring
skills.
3. Modeling and simulation study
Purpose: to understand wheelchair propulsion technique and analyze joint
mechanics.
4. Wheelchair driving accident study
Purpose: to investigate proper use or installation of safety systems and
adjustment of wheelchairs.
5. Rider comfort and whole-body vibration exposure study
Purpose: to evaluate the vibration exposure for electric powered wheelchair as
well as manual wheelchair propulsion over different road surfaces.
6.
Wheelchair transportation study
Purpose: to evaluate wheelchair occupant safety during impact and to develop
design guidelines occupant restraint systems.
7. Head/neck operated interface study
Purpose: to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of head/neck mounted
interfaces.
8.
Hand operated interface study
Purpose: to develop an isometric joystick and evaluate it through comparing with
position joysticks.
9. Soft tissue analysis and wound prevention study
Purpose: the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of soft tissue pathology.
10. Exercise systems for wheelchair users study
Purpose: to develop interfaces between a computer and a roller system or an arm
ergometer, and evaluate the usefulness of these systems to wheelchair users.
11. Wheelchair sports study
Purpose: to investigate wheelchair racing.
Clinical application study
Purpose: to deliver the service and clinical components that assess and provide
assistive technology interventions to people with disabilities.
Overall, it is our ultimate goal to provide solutions for people with
disabilities, their families, and the people who provide products and clinical
services.
-Dan Ding, Ph.D.
Whole Body Vibration During Manual Wheelchair Propulsion with Selected
Seat Cushions and Back Supports
Carmen P. DiGiovine, PhD, Rory A. Cooper, PhD, Shirley G. Fitzgerald, PhD,
Michael L. Boninger, MD, Erik J. Wolf , BS, Songfeng Guo, PhD
Full article published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation
Engineering, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp. 311-322, September 2003.
Purpose of Work. The purpose of this study was to determine if the
selected wheelchair seat cushions and back supports minimize the transmission of
vibrations. Subjects/Procedure. Thirty-two wheelchair users propelled
over an activities of daily living course three times using sixteen randomly
selected seating systems (cushion and a back support) as well as their own
seating system. Vibrations were collected using accelerometers at the seat and
participant’s head.
Results. The weighted fore-to-aft (Tx), vertical (Tz) and resultant (Tr)
transmissibility based on the vibrational-dose-value (VDV) were used to
determine if differences exist among the seat cushions and back supports while
traversing different obstacles. When examining all of the obstacles combined,
significant differences among the seat cushions were not observed. Significant
differences among the back supports were found when traversing the curb descent,
the dimple strip and the rumble strip as well as all of the obstacles combined.
Relevance to Wheelchair Users. Neither a single seat cushion or back
support stands out as producing the best or worst results. This may be explained
by the diversity in the physical characteristics of the individuals with a
disability. The individual may be biased towards the seating system that was
most similar to her/his own. In general, the individuals’ own seating system is
not optimized for reducing the transmission of vibrations, which may increase
the individuals’ likelihood of incurring a secondary injury (e.g. low-back
pain). -Erik Wolf
Scapular Range of Motion in a Quasi-Wheelchair Push
Alicia Koontz, Ph.D., Rory Cooper, Ph.D., Michael Boninger, M.D., Aaron Souza,
M.D., Brian Fay, Ph.D.
Full Article Published in International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol.
33, No. 3, pp. 237-248, March 2004.
Purpose of work: Persons with lower limb paralysis or dysfunction rely
extensively on their upper limbs to accomplish daily tasks such as transfers,
wheelchair propulsion and pressure relief. Unfortunately, overuse of the upper
limbs can lead to shoulder pain and injury. To identify the causes of shoulder
pain and injury from overuse, improved methods are needed for studying shoulder
function during daily tasks. The purpose of this study was to develop a method
to analyze movement of the scapular bone (a.k.a. shoulder blade) during
wheelchair propulsion. Because of the inaccuracies in recording scapular motion
during fast arm movements, the positions of the scapula were recorded with the
hand placed at specified locations along the pushrim, simulating the path
traveled by the hand during actual propulsion.
Subjects/Procedures: Eight men and two women with paraplegia participated
in the study. Their average age was 40 years and they had incurred a spinal cord
injury an average of 16 years prior to this study. Each person was tested in his
or her own manual wheelchair which was secured to a platform. A custom designed
device called a digitizing stylus was used to record the positions of the
participant’s scapula, upper arm and chest as the person placed their hand along
marked points on the pushrim of their wheelchair. At each position, the person
was instructed to hold still while the data were recorded.
Results: Scapular movements were related to the movements of the upper
arm and chest in a simulated push. Using complex regression statistics, a
mathematical relationship was developed that enables for determining scapular
positions given the known positions of the upper arm and chest during
propulsion. The findings provide a deeper understanding of shoulder function
during propulsion.
Relevance to the Veteran Population. Understanding shoulder function
during wheelchair propulsion is important for developing effective techniques
and strategies for preventing injuries.
-Alicia Koontz
Schmeler MR, Boninger ML, Cooper RA, Cooper R, Freestyle Seating, Rehab
Management, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 38-42, January/February 2004.
Koontz AM, Cooper RA, Boninger ML, Souza AL, Fay BT, Scapular Range of Motion in
a Quasi-Wheelchair Push, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, Vol.
33, No. 3, pp. 237-248, March 2004.
Engineering Advantage, Fall 2003:
Page 25: EE Alum Received Prestigious Magnuson Award
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, December 7, 2003:
Teamwork Key to Robotics Competition
Pictures
of HERL featured in:
Traditions of Caring: History of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System 1925-2003,
p. 10
2003 VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Annual Report, p. 5 & 8
Disability World, Nov./Dec. 2003:
Wheelchairs for a Small World
Paraplegia News, February 2004:
Pp. 40: Award Winner
It’s almost time for the 2004 National Veterans Wheelchair Games, the largest
annual wheelchair sports event in the world! Researchers from the Human
Engineering Research Labs will be there in St. Louis, MO to participate as well.
Visit the NVWG website,
http://www1.va.gov/vetevent/nvwg/2004/ to register, volunteer, or get more
information on the games. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
The 2004 Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA) Conference,
the premiere conference for people interested in technology and disability, is
in Orlando, FL, June 18-24. RESNA encourages rehab engineers, therapists,
vocational rehab professional/counselors, suppliers/manufacturers, researchers,
educators, assistive technology specialists and program directors, and policy
experts and advocates to attend. HERL submitted 35 research papers to this
year’s RESNA conference.
The UPMC Rehabilitation Hospital and the UMPC-SCI Model Center on Spinal Cord
Injury is sponsoring a Wheelchair Slalom on Sat. May 1. For more information,
please call
(412) 420-2504 or e-mail: hullmj@upmc.edu
The 2004 NMSS MS Walk in Pittsburgh is on Sunday, April 18 at the Amphitheater
at Station Square. To register to participate in the walk, go to
www.nmss-pgh.org or
contact Amyjo McDade at (412) 261-6347. Go to
www.nationalmssociety.org for information on MS walks in cities all across
the U.S.!
Songfeng
Guo joined the Human Engineering Research Labs as a Research Scientist in August
1999 after earning his Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering and
Instrumentation from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an P.R China. Dr. Guo is also
an assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and
Technology at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to coming to Pittsburgh, he
had researched in the area of biomedical engineering since 1993. Dr. Guo’s
research interests include biomedical instrumentation design and biomedical
signal processing. Dr Guo has extensive research experience in the
rehabilitation science area. He teaches the class Functional Neuromuscular
Stimulation to graduate students in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and
Technology and supervises HERL students on research projects.
Dr. Guo’s expertise in high speed digital electronics and digital signal
processing has been instrumental in the design and development of assistive
devices for many of HERL’s research projects. These projects include design of a
clinical SMARTWheel, The Characterizations of Reverse Instability in Electric
Powered Wheelchairs and the Role of Caster Orientation, Power Wheelchair Crash
Study, and the Improvements in Controls for Electric Powered Wheelchairs. He has
also collaborated on NIH and VA funded projects Arm Pain in People with
Paraplegia during Wheelchair Propulsion and Development of the GAMEcycle
Exercise System. Dr. Guo also contributed significantly to the electrical design
of a remote controlled retractable cane for the visually impaired, a
collaborative research project between HERL and the Atlanta VA.
Dr. Guo is a member of RESNA and received an award for his 1998 project: A
long-term dynamic multi-parameters monitoring and analyzing system for upper
digestive tract.
-Christine Heiner
Stephanie
Martin worked at the Human Engineering Research Labs in the summers of 2002 and
2003 as an undergraduate intern. She assisted with data entry and file
organization for HERL research studies conducted at the National Veterans
Wheelchair Games. Stephanie was selected to attend the 2002 games in Cleveland
to assist the HERL team of researchers with data collection and subject
recruitment. She graduated with a B.S. in Rehabilitation Science and Technology
(RST) from the University of Pittsburgh in April 2003 and joined the lab as a
graduate researcher in the fall. Stephanie is working towards a Masters in RST.
Stephanie will begin work soon on her masters degree project, Dr. Shirley
Fitzgerald’s research study “Hearing and Service Dogs: An Alternative Assistive
Technology.” In this study, Stephanie will work either with people with
disabilities who use assistive service dogs to aid them with various tasks or
with people with hearing impairments who use assistive dogs to act as their
“ears.” These assistive dogs are trained to alert their owners to respond to
important environmental cues, such as doorbells, telephones, fire alarms, or the
owners’ name. The aim of the study is to determine the functionality and
reliability of assistive dogs over other types of assistive devices.
Stephanie submitted a paper entitled “Do Organized Sporting Events Make a
Difference for Individuals who use Wheelchairs” to the 2004 Rehab Engineering
Society of North America (RESNA) Conference. In her paper, she examines mood and
community participation levels among National Veterans Wheelchair Games
participants.
-Christine Heiner
The
FIRST LEGO LEAGUE (FLL) is a robotics competition, held all across the world,
which engages students in robotic design. The ultimate goal is to inspire
children to work together as a team and use their creativity and ingenuity to
address real world situations and opportunities. Individual tournaments are held
all across the world on a local (city), state, national, and international
level. One of state-level sites is The National Robotics Engineering Consortium
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every year this tournament attracts teams, all
eager to showcase their designs and take home a coveted Lego trophy, from across
the Eastern region.
This
year two of the participating teams were sponsored by Tech-Link, a local
Pittsburgh company dedicated to helping children with disabilities advance
towards careers in math, science and technology. Sondra Balouris Brubaker,
executive director of Tech-Link, coordinated the efforts of five graduate
students and two staff members from the Human Engineering Research Laboratories
(HERL), as well as four undergraduate students from the University of Pittsburgh
School of Engineering. Led by Erik Wolf, Andrew Kwarciak, Jon Pearlman, Karl
Brown, Stephanie Martin, Don Spaeth and Diane Collins from HERL, the group
mentored two teams of eight students from several area middle schools. Adopting
the names the Raptors and the Transformers, the teams competed on December 6,
2003 against 65 other teams of similarly aged students with and without
disabilities.
The
main goal of the competition is to design and program a robot to complete a
variety of tasks on the game board. All robots must be built with LEGO pieces
and can be programmed with using a variety of software packages. Prior to
competition the teams designed their robots and practiced completing the tasks
within the challenge. This year’s challenge was titled ‘Mission Mars’. In this
challenge, teams were required to perform tasks that astronauts may face on the
Red Planet, such as clearing dust a solar panel, launching a sample canister,
and freeing a rover from a sand dune. Each successfully completed task earned
the team points, based upon the difficulty of the task. T
eams
tried to complete as many of the nine tasks as they could within two minutes;
some teams actually completed all nine! Overall, the excitement of completing
the tasks and the unexpected successes and failures that occurred along the way
lead to great amount of energy in competitors and spectators alike.
Based on three rounds of robot competition, the Raptors finished in 31st
place closely followed by the Transformers in 32nd place. Also, the Raptors were
ranked 7th in overall robot design. Both teams had their share of challenges,
but ultimately, the students enjoyed their experiences both at, and leading up
to the tournament. The thrill of competing with a robot they designed and built
was undeniable. Many of the students were already talking about next year, and
how much better they will do. In addition to having fun and learning about
design and programming, the students learned other important life lessons, such
as the importance of planning, preparation, and teamwork. It is certain that
next year will bring more enthusiasm and excitement from students who are ready
to learn and make their ideas come to life, with the help of LEGOs. -Andrew
Kwarciak
Perhaps
you are a person or the family member of a person who uses a wheelchair, a
disability advocate, or a clinician or researcher who has an experience to share
that would be interesting and beneficial to our newsletter readers. Well, we
want to hear from you! HERL is very interested in publishing your “real life”
personal stories about living with a disability or supporting and participating
in disability research. We’re looking for essays anywhere from 250-1,000 words.
This is your chance to speak out! If you are interested in submitting your
personal story, please e-mail me at
heinercm@pitt.edu, or please mail it to me at the following address:
Human Engineering Research Labs
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
7180 Highland Drive
Building 4, 2nd Floor East, 151R-1
Pittsburgh, Pa, 15206
If we select your story for publication, we will send you a HERL T-shirt! We’re
looking forward to hearing about your experiences!
Christine Heiner - Newsletter Editor
Mark
McCartney is a master machinist at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories
and senior machinist for the Center for Assistive Technology (CAT) at the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The CAT is an assistive technology
clinic where clinicians ensure individuals with disabilities receive appropriate
assistive devices. Mark is responsible for the CAT Machine Shop, where he
fabricates those assistive devices for people who are evaluated at the clinic.
He also machines and builds project materials for the University of Pittsburgh’s
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Mark has worked for the Center for
Assistive Technology since 1994.
Mark also works at the Human Engineering Research Labs 2 days a week, helping
students design and build parts and devices for research projects in our Design
and Prototyping Laboratory. He serves as an instructor for the HERL machine shop
class, HRS 1709: Design/Fabrication with Engineering Materials. Mark has also
volunteered his machining expertise to past FIRST competitions, in which HERL
engineers worked with high school students to build a competitive robot.
Recently, Mark was a key player on the India Chair project team. This project is
a collaborative effort between the Indian government and ALIMCO (the largest
wheelchair manufacturer in South Asia), NIDRR and HERL to improve their
wheelchair designs. Mark was heavily involved in the design and construction of
the final India Chair prototype. In February, the final chair prototype was
delivered to ALIMCO and the team traveled there to demonstrate the prototype to
Indian Spinal Cord Injury Center therapists and wheelchair users and work with
ALIMCO engineers and machinists to begin production on the new design.
Mark completed a four-year machinist apprenticeship program at Contraves Goerz
Corporation in 1978 and is vested by the state of Pennsylvania as a Journeyman
Machinist. Mark worked as a Machinist and a Precision Mechanical Assembler at
Contraves for 20 years, the last 9 years in domestic and international field
service. -Christine Heiner
You can now receive the HQN by e-mail! If you would like to receive this newsletter electronically, send an e-mail to
heinercm@pitt.edu.
Research studies at our laboratories involve participants who utilize manual or power wheelchairs as a means for mobility. The majority of our studies involve a visit to the Human Engineering Research Laboratories located at the Highland Drive VA Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA. However, some of our studies are survey based and do not involve travel. If you are interested in obtaining further information about how you can participate in current or future studies, please contact Annmarie or Rosi, Clinical Coordinators for the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at (412) 365-4850. We look forward to hearing from you.
This Publication Is A Service Of:
Human Engineering Research Laboratories
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
7180 Highland Drive
Building 4, 2nd Floor East Wing, 151R-1
Pittsburgh, Pa, 15206
Phone: 412-365-4850
Fax: 412-365-4858
E-mail any comments, corrections, or questions concerning the newsletter to the editor, Christine Heiner at:
Email: heinercm@pitt.edu
Home
| Introduction
| Research
| Laboratories
| Publications
| Education |
Affiliations
Standards
& Patents | Personnel
| Activities
| VA
WheelchairInfo | Newsletter