"I was interested in the project because of the link between using engineering techniques to solve a "real-world" biomedical problem. The ideas mainly came from Nancy Ehrlich and Keith Parsons. I just wanted to make sure their ideas found a receptive audience in the Senior Design Course that we were invited to participate as a business partner with the Penn State University School of Engineering. I was most impressed by the creativity and enthusiasm of the engineering students. None of them were planning to work in the medical sector after graduation but they all invested a great deal of time and energy to tackle the problems posed by Nancy and Keith. "

 

Everett C. Hills, MD, MS
Medical Director, Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation Hospital
Assistant Professor, Depts. of Neurology and Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation

"Dr. Hills, Keith and I decided we would like to participate in the project and came up with some  project ideas for adaptive equipment to assist people with disabilities or those who care for them.  We went up to the Project Fair in January, where the students chose from many companies what projects they will do.  We went up there with 5 ideas...hoping the students might chose one.  We were in competition with companies like Lockeed, Boeing, Shell etc.  Anyway, all 5 projects were chosen.  We were in somewhat of a state of shock on the way home.  It meant that we would have 5 groups of 5 students each, which meant more work than we bargained for.   Over the next 14 weeks the students developed their projects, including a leg stretcher for spasms, a stair climber small enough to fit under a WC, a blow up vest to help a quad sit up, a hand gripper to help a quad lift things and use objects like a Pole stick, a fishing pole, and weights and a wheelchair was designed to lift a child up higher in their wc so parents can gee wt under them better to lift without back strain.  After much hard work and many revisions the 5 projects were completed and ready for the design showcase.   It was a great day. To make it even better, the "Leg Stretcher" group won 1st place for the Lockheed-Boeing award which was presented at the dinner that evening. "

 

Nancy Ehrlich