Design For The Disabled As An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Project

Abstract

and his B.Ed. from Keene State College. His research interests include engineering education, product realization, design methodologies, facility layout, and production system design.

Introducing Universal Design Concepts In An Interdisciplinary Laboratory Project

“…Such design experiences commonly occur in first year introduction to design courses 1,2 and capstone design courses. 3,4,5 Faculty members in biomedical engineering and industrial engineering at Western New England College have previously described a 5-week design experience, 6 based on the NISH National Scholar Award for Workplace Innovation & Design, 7 that provided an opportunity for students to design assistive technologies for workers with disabilities at Goodwill Industries of the Springfield/Hartford Area, Inc., a local nonprofit agency performing light manufacturing work. These projects were completed in interdisciplinary teams as requirements in senior biomedical engineering and industrial engineering laboratory courses, rather than in the formal capstone design courses for each of the departments.…”

Patient Centered Design in Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering

“…Undergraduate biomedical engineering courses that involve clinical immersion are not unique in BME education and have been developed at a number of universities (see, for example, [8]- [10]). Other programs have developed patient-focused design courses, typically under the broad umbrella of rehabilitation engineering or design for patients with disabilities [11]- [12]. However, we are not aware of any published studies of existing courses in human-centered design and needs finding that contain otherwise identical sections that focus on either clinical immersion or patient interaction, nor are we aware of a comparison of student outcomes resulting from a semester-long vs. an accelerated two-week design course.…”