With biofeedback abilities unrivalled in current products, the Tensegrity foot (currently in research) promises an entirely different experience for people who have lost a foot. With a flexible mid-foot joint, and spring loaded heel, a natural and rhythmic walking gate has been the goal of the inventors and it looks like they’re well on their way to putting their best foot forward.

While still in its prototype phase, the Tensegrity foot is designed to mimic the action of a jointed foot to allow for a more natural and stable gait. Built by inventor and mechanical engineer Jerome Rifkin, the artificial foot bends like a normal foot and ankle, and conforms to the terrain underneath it.

The National Rehabilitation Hospital is working closely with army doctors and veterans to improve accessibility to rehab, assistive technology, and cutting edge care for soldiers returning to life with disabilities.

WASHINGTON, June 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A team of medical professionals from the National Rehabilitation Hospital is calling the U.S. Army’s rehab services in Germany impressive. The NRH team has been in Germany since last weekend to work with the US Army’s Europe Regional Medical Command (ERMC) in assessing their current rehabilitation practices.

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Indianapolis, IN, United States, 06/18/2008 - The INDATA Project reaches out to Hoosiers with disabilities.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s (FSSA) Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) recently contracted with Easter Seals Crossroads to be the statewide provider of the Federal Assistive Technology Act.

An ‘assistive technology device’ refers to any item, piece of equipment or product system (whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized) that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. Examples of assistive technology include, but are not limited to, screen readers for people who are blind or visually impaired, voice input software, ergonomic and onscreen keyboards, screen magnification software, and augmentative communication devices.

This grant will be facilitated through the new Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project at Easter Seals Crossroads. The INDATA Project is the only statewide assistive technology project serving Hoosiers with disabilities at no charge.

“Our primary purpose is to get assistive technology into the hands of Hoosiers with disabilities through device demonstrations, device loans, computer recycling and alternative financing,” said Assistive Technology Center Director M. Wade Wingler. “Our second goal is for the INDATA Project to provide statewide outreach and educational opportunities regarding assistive technology capabilities, options and resources.”

Project outreach efforts will include quarterly trainings, offered statewide through remote tele-rehabilitation sites, an annual statewide assistive technology conference and localized small group presentations. Currently, the INDATA Project is launching a brand-awareness campaign that includes statewide site and media tours, a new Web-based tool that facilitates the reutilization of previously owned assistive technology and a number of outreach activities throughout Indiana.

Easter Seals Crossroads has been a leader in providing assistive technology clinical services to Hoosiers with disabilities since 1979. Clinical services include evaluation of a person’s functional capabilities and recommendations of appropriate assistive technologies to maximize these capabilities. Individual goals can represent job, school performance or at-home scenarios. In addition, Easter Seals Crossroads staff assist with funding sources, equipment set up and training, as well as 24/7 technical support. The INDATA Project will allow Easter Seals Crossroads to expand the scope of assistive technology services offered while increasing the number of Hoosiers touched by these services.

For more information on the INDATA Project, contact Ewart Solomon at 888-466-1314.

Easter Seals Crossroads is a community resource, working in partnership with children and adults with disabilities or special needs and their families to promote growth, independence and dignity.

The INDATA Project at Easter Seals Crossroads provides information and access to assistive technology, at no charge, for Hoosiers with disabilities. These statewide services are derived through the Indiana Assistive Technology Act (INDATA) Project state/federal grant and include: device demonstrations, device loans, recycled computers, reutilized assistive technology equipment, alternative financing resources, and educational trainings and conferences.

Source

Safeway Eastern Division Raises Over One Million Dollars for People With Disabilities:

After a successful fundraising campaign in April, which raised $692,000 for Easter Seals clients — The Safeway Foundation sponsored the 21st Annual Pro-Am Golf Tournament in June and raised an additional $435,815.00 for a grand total of $1,127,815.00.

As a result, Easter Seals hosted a ‘Thanks a Million’ Tea Party at the new assistive technology center Easter Seals helped build in Silver Spring, MD. Congressman Chris Van Hollen attended.

This summer’s blockbuster hit, Iron Man, has a unique and interesting premise. The main character, suffering a disabling injury (and well, a kidnapping, but that’s a different story), uses this premise to develop technology and motivation for living. It’s an interesting look at disability, and not something normally focused on in Hollywood. Will Stape has a nice article about the concept available for reading here.

Council representatives and housing bosses attended an event to mark the completion of a new state of housing development by Lancashire’s New Progress Housing Association this week.

The development, which has taken just over a year to complete, will provide much needed accommodation for people aged over 55 in the village of Hutton. The eight high quality bungalows are now available for affordable rent or for shared ownership and the first tenants are expected to move in next month.

New Progress Housing Association, a leading provider of affordable housing in the North West of England, worked with construction partner Edenfield Homes Ltd. on the project. The Housing Corporation and South Ribble Borough Council provided capital grant to part fund the development.

Each property offers the option of a direct link to New Progress Housing Association’s Telecare service. Telecare provides emergency assistance and a call out service 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. It helps maintain independent living with assistive technology such as personal alarms, flood and fire detectors, fall detectors and automated lighting.

The decision to provide housing for rent and shared ownership on the site was based on local housing needs as identified by South Ribble Borough Council. Priority has been given to local applicants.

Representatives of New Progress Housing Association, Progress Housing Group, South Ribble Borough Council, Hutton Parish Council, Lancashire County Council, Edenfield Homes, and the Housing Corporation attended the event.

Bernie Keenan, Managing Director of New Progress Housing Association, said: ‘We would like to thank all our partners who were involved in getting this fantastic scheme to completion, particularly the Borough and Parish Councils who had vision and imagination to make this scheme work.

Just a quick link to an interesting article on the state of disability assistance in Canada.

Better in-field medical care, and better equipment means that people are surviving injuries which would have been fatal in the past. Many are returning home severely disabled, but alive and with the need to reintegrate into civilian life. All American Patriots is running a thought provoking piece on what this means to the assistive technology community, the veterans themselves, and the the caregivers and people around them.

Wounded servicemembers in need of accommodations for their visual, hearing, dexterity and cognitive disabilities are the fastest-growing group requesting assistive technologies, a senior Defense Department official said in a May 29 interview.

“Recently, we have been overwhelmed with requests from our wounded servicemembers as they are coming back and also learning that they need to have a different type of technology or can benefit from assistive technology,” Dinah Cohen, director of the department’s Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program, or CAP, said on the “Dot Mil Docs” program on BlogTalkRadio.com.

When the war on terror began, it became clear that demand for assistive technology would grow from people with established needs to others who previously had no need for the help the technologies provide, Cohen said.

“Post-9/11, it was very obvious to me as men and women were coming back from the global war on terror that many of them were coming back with devastating injuries that would benefit from the same accommodations that are used to meet the needs for people with disabilities,” Cohen said.

Dana Blankenhorn, of ZDNet, registers an opinion on what the war has done for assistive technology and what assistive technology has done for veterans. Good read, nice discussion.

Teens at Metheune High took on the challenge of creating assistive technology devices with a maximum cost of only $150.00 in the latest Assistive Technology Design Fair at University of Massachusetts. The young inventors came up with several workable ideas, including a PVC based walker, an arts table to assist mobility challenged users in coloring and painting, and a “Head Activated Messeger” for those who are severely impacted in normal communication methods. To read more about these amazing teens, and their wonderful contributions, visit the Eagle Tribune.

The group of Methuen High students entered the noncompetitive Assistive Technology Design Fair at University of Massachusetts Lowell earlier this month. Their task was to meet elderly or disabled people, learn about a problem they have and build a device to make life easier for them. Nine students participated in teams of three, according to emerging technologies teacher Larry Lambert.

The fair’s rules barred the students from spending more than $150 on their project.

Kristen Bateson’s team built a coloring table for Gabe Bisono, 13, who has Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and is hearing impaired.