On Friday September 20th, members of the SmartTech Hub for Paralysis Care participated in the 12th Annual Wheelchair Wash and TuneUp. This event, sponsored by the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute, was a great opportunity to not only get a quick clean, but also to handle small repairs and get recommendations on improvements and modifications that can be made.
Representatives from the Smart Tech Hub for Paralysis Care were in Chicago last month for the annual Academy of Spinal Cord Industry Professionals (ASCIP) Conference. Randy Huzenic, along with Dan Ding, Lynn Worobey, and Drew Redpenning, presented “Smart-er Clinical Practice: How to Assess and Recommend Smart Technology for Individuals Who Have Paralysis.”
On May 21st, ST4P team member Mitch Bell opened the Assist+ assistive technology center at the UPMC Mercy Pavillion which specializes in technology that empowers people of different abilities including adaptive gaming!
Nearly 18,000 individuals in the U.S. sustain a traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) each year. Additionally, while non-traumatic SCI can be difficult to track, it is estimated to be roughly the same amount as traumatic injuries per year. The care of persons with SCI requires an interdisciplinary approach across the continuum of care from initial injury, medical complications, many phases of rehab, and community reintegration.
As care for individuals with paralysis moves increasingly toward home- and community-based delivery models, the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) and School of Medicine continue to lead research innovation with the establishment of the SmartTech Implementation Hub for Paralys
