Accessible Switch Research Study
Our friends at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation are recruiting Canadian subjects to test two new assistive switch designs. If you have ALS or Muscular Dystrophy and would be interested in participating, see below. Even if you are ineligible to take part in the research, there is an opportunity to help improve the designs, which will be released on the Makers Making Change library when the study concludes.
(Read a PDF version of the poster).
The Lift Switch
The Lift Switch is for people who have movement ability, but who no longer have the strength or endurance to hover their hand or foot or other body part over an accessible switch they already own. The Lift Switch has three modes that all allow for use of your accessible switch in reverse, where lifting off of the switch activates it.
The Lift Switch project is currently in the research phase.
The Twitch Switch
The Twitch Switch is designed for people who have very limited motion. It consists of a controller box with three wireless sensors. Up to three sensors can then be attached to any part of the body where any movement is possible.
That movement will be picked up by the sensors, allowing the user to navigate a computer or wireless device screen, or operate switch adapted devices.
The Twitch Switch project is currently in the research and quality improvement phase.
If you are interested in receiving a Lift Switch and/or Twitch Switch, and participating in the research, please complete the eligibility survey.
If you are ineligible for the research, please contact Samantha.Burpee@horizonnb.ca to inquire about participating in the quality improvement portion of the project.
Upon completion of the project in April 2022, the Lift Switch and Twitch Switch will be available open source through Makers Making Change.
