Kinemo: Simplifying Alternative Control to Increase Independence in Mobility and Digital Access for People with Tetraplegia

Kinemo, in partnership with the Shepherd Center, aims to further develop a new alternative controller for people with tetraplegia to use their remaining body motion to drive their power wheelchair and access their digital devices more effectively to increase their community participation, one of NIDILRR’s major outcome domains, as well as employment participation. To achieve this goal within this six month project, the first specific aim (SA-1) will focus on the development of an engineering prototype with objectives to (1) improve reliability of body gesture detection and (2) wearability of our controller to allow users to maintain control of their digital devices anywhere, (3) complete functional testing to ensure the improved prototype will be functional and reliable, and (4) manufacture a small engineering batch. The products from this aim include completion of device validation tasks and a Master Device File. In the second aim (SA-2), a feasibility study will be conducted with five patients living with tetraplegia at Shepherd Center’s Family Residence Center. The patients will use Kinemo as their main alternative control over a period of 15 days to become familiar with Kinemo and provide insightful feedback. The objective of this study will be to identify the technical and operational challenges of using Kinemo during activities of daily living by having participants complete daily questionnaires to provide their user experience. The products of this aim will be a summary of questionnaire findings to recommend a set of improvements that will help realize our vision for a product that will increase the independence in mobility and digital access for people with tetraplegia.