Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter Stanford course - entering its seventeenth year - that explores the design, development, and use of assistive technology that benefits people with disabilities and older adults. It consists of semi-weekly in-person discussions; lectures by notable professionals, clinicians, and assistive technology users; a field trip to an accessible inclusive playground; an Assistive Technology Faire; and student project presentations and demonstrations. Course website.

Guest Lecturer Schedule - For more information about each presenter and their topic, browse to the course lecture schedule webpage. Community members are welcome to attend class sessions on campus. Maps and direcrions. Stanford strongly recomends masking in classrooms. There will not be a concurrent Zoom broadcast.

Tuesday, February 21st at 4:30pm PST

Abstract: This session will provide an overview of the adaptive technology available for Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury & Disorders (SCI/D) at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. This will include examples from both clinical care and clinical research.

Biosketch: B. Jenny Kiratli, PhD is the Director of Clinical Research in the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Center, VA Palo Alto Health System. She has over 30 years’ experience conducting research with individuals with SCI. Her funded research has included projects on bone and body composition; exercise, physical activity, and cardiovascular risk; upper extremity function; and nutrition. Currently, she is PI on a project to establish evidence for a knee reference bone mineral density measurement to predict bone health after SCI, Co-PI on project to evaluate utility and outcomes of a novel mobile manual standing wheelchair, and PI on two new projects to explore access to VA services and mental health issues of persons who identify as sexual and gender minorities and live with SCI/D. She served on the Stanford Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in research for 8 years (1999-2007) and has served since then on the VA Central IRB with oversight of multi-center projects across the VA system.

Biosketch: Jeffrey P Jaramillo, DPT is currently a Research Health Science Specialist in the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). Jeff has 30 years of experience as a Physical Therapist. He is the laboratory manager of SCI Exercise Physiology Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Beatrice Jenny Kiratli, PhD. He has been involved in a research capacity for over 15 years at the VA Palo Alto spanning projects including studies of; Upper extremity functional changes in patients with stroke performing hybrid resisted strength training protocols and robotic gait training for persons with paraplegia and stroke, use of interactive video gaming for upper extremity motor performance, upper extremity tendon transfers, upper limb EMG decomposition, exoskeleton training, use of novel wheelchair technology, and qualitative studies for persons with SCI.

Thursday, February 23rd at 4:30pm PST

Abstract: Peter will talk about the difference between Universal, Adaptable, and Adaptive design. Peter was the first undergraduate using a wheelchair for mobility to live on the Stanford campus in 1976 when accessibility issues were just beginning to be addressed. Those experiences and the desire to participate in the same physical activities as every other college student who had professional and recreational interests shaped his career as a designer. Peter will share how his interests spawned the creation of Beneficial Designs, Inc to support the development of personal, activity specific and environmental technologies for people of all abilities. His experience in obtaining Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grants to develop and functionally assess products, services, and the designs of outdoor environments, has provided many opportunities for he and his staff to change the way people with impairments of all kinds are able to participate in all aspects of life activity. His company works toward universal access through research, design, and education to enable persons of all abilities to participate in the physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of life.

Biosketch: Peter Axelson is a rehabilitation engineer who sustained a spinal cord injury in a 1975 climbing accident while in the Air Force Academy. He continued his education at Stanford University, where he began applying engineering and design principles to overcome daily living hurdles faced by people with disabilities. In 1981 he founded Beneficial Designs, Inc. an engineering design firm dedicated to designing, developing, and testing assistive technologies. His accomplishments include developing the first chairlift-compatible mono-ski with a shock absorber, working to establish wheelchair testing standards, improving seating systems for wheelchairs, and creating a system to assess trails that will improve access to outdoor trails for people of all abilities.

Peter is the founder and the Director of Research and Development of Beneficial Designs and spends much of his time traveling throughout the world attending meetings and presenting his work. He's also a pilot and avid mono-skier.

• Tuesday, February 28th- Assistive Technology Faire
• Thursday, March 2nd - From Idea to Market: Eatwell, Assistive Tableware for Persons with Cognitive Impairments