Page 8 - The Mobility Project, April 2020

Helo, Tomorrow!
IMAGINING HOW ROBOTICS & COMPLEX WHEELCHAIRS WILL INTERACT IN THE FUTURE
By Haley Samsel
When Dan Ding started her new job at
the University of Pittsburgh in 2001, she had never heard the term “rehabilitation robotics.” She attended robotics conferences while earning her Ph.D. in Hong Kong, but rarely saw sessions on healthcare, much less the type of work that would soon change complex rehab technology (CRT) — the industry that designs, manufactures, custom fits and custom builds wheelchairs for people with significant mobility-related disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.
“I don’t think at the time the term
was coined,” Ding, now an associate professor in the university’s Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, said. “I definitely witnessed the whole growth of this technology’s involvement in rehabilitation and assistive technology, so I feel very fortunate that, before that happened, I was able to get into this field.”
Ding’s early experiences are a far
cry from the landscape of robotics in complex rehab today, where startups have introduced technology ranging from systems that allow users to control their wheelchairs with their eyes to blind spot sensors that alert power chair users when they are about to hit a corner or object.
While there is a sense of unlimited possi- bilities for robotic technology, experts say there are also immense challenges, particu- larly in terms of the high costs for patients seeking the latest equipment and the regu- latory hurdles for CRT companies trying to bring innovative products to market.
For Pooja Viswanathan, the CEO and founder of the Toronto-based blind-spot sensor manufacturer Braze Mobility,
the CRT industry is just “skimming the surface” of what’s possible in terms of finding solutions for patients.
“I think there’s tremendous opportunity
8 2020 | THE MOBILITY PROJECT
TheMobilityProject.com
ROBOT/HUMAN HANDSHAKE: DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM/VITALIY_SOKOL