For Immediate Release
Saluting technologies for mobility assistance
GM and National MS Society, Michigan Chapter present the da Vinci Awards®
Southfield, MI – September 19, 2007 - For the seventh year running, innovations and innovators assisting those with mobility impairment, will be recognized by the da Vinci Awards® on September 28th at Dearborn’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Presenting Sponsor General Motors and Leadership Chairman Chet Huber, President of GM’s OnStar, have generously provided funding and support enabling these unique awards to honor leading edge technologies.
Of the ten 2007 da Vinci Awards given this year, these six innovations are the technology winners: EagleEyes, Handybar, INDEPENDENCE® iBOT®, PROPRIO Foot, WalkAide and FuelCall. While each is unique in its design, function and execution, they all serve those who deal with various forms of mobility impairment.
EagleEyes allows people to control the computer by moving only their eyes. EagleEyes works through five electrodes placed on the person’s head. Developed at Boston College and licensed to the Opportunity Foundation of America, EagleEyes is provided free of charge to anyone demonstrating a need for the device.
Handybar® by Avenue Innovations, Inc. of British Columbia, is a strong, lightweight aluminium, portable handle with a non-slip, comfortable Pantene medical grip that fits securely into the vehicle door striker plate, enabling easy entrance and exit from a vehicle. Handybar is available all over the world.
Originator of the Segway® mobile platform, designer-inventor Dean Kaman has been recognized for the iBOT® 4000 Mobility System by INDEPENDENCE TECHNOLOGY®, an all-in-one combination of functions unlike any wheelchair ever created, enabling users to go up and down stairs, raise themselves to counter level or eye height, climb curbs and travel rough terrain. Patented iBALANCE® Technology utilizes gyroscopes to automatically stabilize the user in an elevated position.
The iBot can even be controlled remotely for easily loading the unoccupied chair for transportation. INDEPENDENCE TECHNOLOGY is a Johnson & Johnson company.
The PROPRIO FOOT™, by OSSUR of Reykjavik, Iceland, is a prosthetic, which employs cutting edge sensor technology. Thinking for itself, it responds to changing terrain, transforming the approach to stairs and slopes, as well as level-ground walking. Angling itself appropriately, it helps amputees to sit and stand up easily and more naturally. The PROPRIO FOOT also has a calibrated alignment control feature. Overall, the effect is a more balanced, symmetric and confident gait with reduced wear and tear on the back, hips and knees.
Cutting edge sensor technology and artificial intelligence identifies sloping gradients and the ascent or descent of stairs after the first step, and instructs the ankle to flex appropriately. Users can place the foot fully on a step when climbing or descending stairs and it will automatically adapt its ankle position to enable the next step.
The WalkAide® System by Hanger Orthopedic Group, Inc. (NYSE: HGR) employs electrical stimulation to treat a form of paralysis known as "foot drop" due to stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and other pathologies such as multiple sclerosis. More than simply bracing a limb to improve mobility, the tiny WalkAide uses Myo-Orthotics Technology, which actually restores the functionality of an impaired extremity by mimicking and recreating natural nerve-to-muscle electrical response.
Inclusion Solutions provides FuelCall™ to comply with the ADA's refueling assistance policy and meet the needs of all drivers with disabilities. The FuelCall™ touch pad is mounted at a designated island at the station, accessible to the driver. The touch pad is connected to a receiver inside the store thereby alerting employees that a customer needs refueling assistance.
Pump access is a major concern for drivers with disabilities and a potential liability for service stations. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, gas stations must provide refueling assistance upon request of an individual with a disability (where feasible), and let customers know that individuals with disabilities can obtain refueling assistance.
Corporate sponsorships and individual donations are welcome. Event tickets and group tables are still available.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease usually diagnosed in young adults and the National MS Society understands the difficulties people experience when faced with physical disabilities.
The Michigan Chapter of the National MS Society (www.nationalmssociety.org/mig) created the da Vinci Awards to foster innovation and hope by recognizing the latest developments and research in adaptive and assistive technologies, which play an important role in helping people overcome physical limitations.
The da Vinci Awards were named after Leonardo da Vinci because of his documented talents as an inventor, philosopher, engineer, architect and artist. The name itself captures the spirit in which the awards are given.
Proceeds from the da Vinci Awards benefit the National MS Society’s Michigan Chapter. Michigan has one of the highest incident rates of MS in the U.S., with more than 18,000 residents living with MS.
Follow the da Vinci Awards on Twitter at http://twitter.com/davinciawards and Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/da-Vinci-Awards/21738123205.
