Innovative Assistance

Over the years, advancing technology has given the disabled greater mobility and freedom than they’ve ever experienced. Many of today’s innovations go beyond basic functionality — they allow people to work and play in ways never thought possible.

Each year, the da Vinci Awards spotlight inventions that improve the lives of the disabled. For the fifth year, the Michigan chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Engineering Society of Detroit, which spearhead the international project, are seeking nominations for the 2005 honors.

Three from the list of 2004 da Vinci Award winners include:

• Bruno Lift-Up Power Seat For those unable to climb in and out of minivans, this seat rotates and lowers to the most comfortable position for the person (the lowest is approximately 17 inches from the seat bottom to the ground) to help them in and out of a 2004 or 2005 Toyota Sienna Minivan with no or minimal caregiver assistance. Developed by Bruno Independent Living Aids, the seat, which is designed to look like it was factory-installed, can be put in the front and middle-right passenger positions and is operated by a handheld pendant with the push of a button.
• IKAN Bowler Taken from a Greek word meaning enable, IKAN gives quadriplegics the opportunity to bowl competitively by allowing them to control the direction, speed and timing of the ball’s release. First developed by Bill Miller, a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic, and Claude Giguere, a retired General Motors engineer, this barrier-free bowling system attaches to the wheelchair and reproduces the same reaction as if the bowling ball were released from a bowler’s hand. The device was later refined for mass production by MGT Corp. Both the American Bowling Congress and the Women’s International Bowling Congress now recognize the IKAN Bowler and allow quadriplegics to compete with the device in league play.
• Wheelchair Backpack Holder and Retriever Child inventor Chandler Macocha came up with the idea for this device at the age of 12 after noticing that his neighbor and other disabled students had trouble reaching around the backs of their wheelchairs for their backpacks. The device, which can hold a backpack, purse or other bag, can be attached to the back of any standard wheelchair and swivels forward with a hand-operated lever. Macocha, now 14, has applied for a patent and plans to market the device in the near future.

The deadline for 2005 da Vinci Award nominations is July 1. To submit a nomination online, visit www.davinciawards.com, or call Dale Thomas at 248/353-0735, ext. 4123.