- Prosthetic Leg Attachment – A young girl had her left foot amputated at 15 months and had received several prosthetic legs over her life, that just never seemed to fit quite right for a growing and active child. The team carefully designed a prosthetic leg with a unique adjustable fit that would “grow” with her. Shortly after receiving her new prosthetic, the young girl ran in downtown Akron’s 1k Fun Run at Lock 3. For their efforts, the University of Akron Biomedical Engineering Design Team was awarded the Community Impact Award, by Summit DD Board.
See Akron Beacon Journal Article:
- Adaptive Bike – A young boy could not ride a standard bike due to his physical disability. Bike modifications included: (a) a custom 3-D Printed Pedal designed and balanced to accommodate his shoe brace, (b) adjustable horizontal and vertical back/seat supports, (c) modified handbrakes to account for unequal hand strength and (d) engineered pedaling motion to prevent his leg joint from “locking up”.
- Tandem Wheelchair
A family with one child in a wheelchair and the other child in a stroller requested a “tandem” wheelchair design. The family requested a modified wheelchair designed so that one parent alone could easily mobilize both children while traveling out in the community.
Gabe and Josie https://youtu.be/KezMmfxqXs0
- Motorized Jeep – A young boy who uses a wheelchair for mobility wanted to enjoy playtime activities with his siblings. So, a donated Power Wheel was modified with a custom car seat that can be controlled locally by a child using a proximity switch or remotely by the parents with a modified Xbox controller.
- Combination Wheelchair – A family has twins that use wheelchairs for mobility. The family requested a “combination” wheelchair designed so that one parent alone could easily mobilize both children while out of the house for shopping, visiting the park, traveling etc.
- Helping Hands – A woman enjoys crocheting but the spasticity in her hand does not allow her to adjust the tension on the yarn. Therefore, she relies on another individual to be present when she is crocheting to assist. As a result, this limits the amount of time she can spend doing something she loves, whenever she feels like it. The woman requested a crocheting devise to hold and keep the tension of various yarn so that she can be independent in this activity.
- Adult Adaptive Power Wheel – A young woman’s favorite activity is riding a power wheel around her yard. Her mom is continuously amazed with her ability to navigate her environment, as she typically struggles with depth perception while walking. When she is riding, she really “comes alive” in ways that are unlike anything else the mom has seen from her. As she has gotten older, her mom has going through several power wheel batteries a year. The young woman would really benefit from having something larger and more age appropriate for her size, but still safe about 7 mph.
- Child Adaptive Power Wheel – A family requested a modified power wheel car so that the child could get moving independently at a young age and play alongside peers in their community.
Inclusioneers in Greater Akron
Based on attendee suggestions at the 2016 Lock 3 Winterfest event (supported by the City of Akron Parks & Recreation and Summit DD), the Inclusioneers Steering Committee sought the resources to design an accessible slide (Reindeer Run). When the University of Akron was approached for student resources, they provided the assistance of 60 Civil Engineering students, to solve a “bigger idea”. The “bigger idea” formed the foundation to transform the Akron Parks & Recreation property at Lock 3 in downtown Akron into a community centerpiece for inclusion.
The Lock 3 Inclusion HUB project is a 3 year plan that includes: (a) a relocated Playground (donated by Summit DD), (b) an accessible Slide and Boardwalk, (c) Grass Seating designed into the slope of the terrain for viewing stage events, (d) a Bike Rental/Café building and (e) a Splash Pad. The UA students’ final design and budget proposals for the Lock 3 Inclusion HUB project were completed in May, 2017.
