Welcome to this edition of  Perspectives,  the e-newsletter of the Stanford course Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

What is the course? - Perspectives in Assistive Technology is a Winter Quarter course at Stanford that explores issues surrounding the design, development, and use of assistive technology for people with disabilities and seniors. More information can be found on the course website.

Invitation to attend - You are invited to attend all class lectures. They will be held in the Main Quad, Building 370, Classroom 370 on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 4:15 to 5:30pm and are free and open to the public.

Next class session - Tuesday, January 18th at 4:15pm:

Abstract: Doug will describe several examples of rehabilitation engineering projects he has worked on - giving some personal insight into the design process, relating his experiences, and passing along some helpful guiding advice he has received or learned over the years.

Biosketch: Doug Schwandt began his career in Rehabilitation Engineering with a Stanford ME210 (now ME310) student team design project creating the Handbike, the first arm-powered, two-wheeled bicycle for individuals with lower-limb disabilities. After graduation, he continued development of the Handbike as well as designing various other devices in the Design Development group at the Palo Alto VA Rehab R&D Center, including finger-spelling hands, hyper/hypo gravity devices and specialty cycle ergometers. Over the years, Doug has also consulted on exciting and challenging projects outside of the VA, including exercise concepts for long-term space travel, MRI compatible fixtures and mobility devices, and robots for physical therapy. No longer a VA employee, Doug continues to work with universities and companies as a free-lance consulting design engineer, and part-time as a springboard diving coach. His recent consulting projects include participating in the design of the prosthetic haptic interface system for the DARPA bionic arm and contributing to the development of a new model of the G-Trainer, by Alter-G.

"Give Hope - Give a Hand" - The LN-4 Prosthetic Hand Maurice LeBlanc, MSME, CP

Abstract: There is a need in developing countries for prosthetic hands for amputees who have lost an arm due to industrial trauma, landmines, wars, etc. For those who have no medical resources and no money, the LN-4 is a worthwhile prosthetic hand. The design and the fitting of this hand will be demonstrated.

Biosketch: Maurice LeBlanc is a mechanical engineer from Stanford University with training in prosthetics and orthotics at UCLA Medical Center. His career has focused on assistive technology for people with disabilities with special interest in upper-limb prosthetics. He has worked at UCLA Prosthetics and Orthotics Program, National Academy of Sciences, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford, Palo Alto VA Medical Center, and Mechanical Engineering at Stanford. In 2008, the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists awarded him the Titus-Ferguson Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest level of recognition bestowed upon an outstanding academician whose accomplishments and contributions have made a significant impact on the growth and development of the profession.

Do you have a question or comment? - David L. Jaffe, MS, the course organizer, can be reached by email or at 650/892-4464.