Assistance Technology Research Center

Abstract

The Assistive Technology Research Center, ATRC, is comprised of a set of interrelated research and development projects which apply modern technologies, in particular those which have been exploited in the military, to the practice of medical rehabilitation and technological support for independent living for individuals with disabilities. The Center seeks to work collaboratively to meet the particular mandates of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. Projects are physically conducted and administratively located in the departments of rehabilitation engineering and neuroscience at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Individual researchers from several other hospital services and clinical professions are also involved. The ATRC takes advantage of a unusual combination of skills, facilities and interests; specifically a strong community of R&D specialists in biomedical engineering and neuropsychology is positioned to undertake collaborative projects unlike those under way at more conventionally staffed laboratories. The projects whose progress is detailed in this report target the needs of individuals with head injury, stroke, spinal cord injury and developmental disabilities. These activities address the clinical techniques of psychologists, occupational and physical therapist, physicians and speech pathologists. They make use of technologies based particularly in software development but also in man-machine systems, human factors, biomechanics, telehealth, virtual reality methods, and instrumentation. Assessment and enhancement of motor and cognitive function; and support and measurement of functional performance are the prevailing research themes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA435500

Entities

People

  • John Toerge
  • Joseph Bleiberg
  • Michael A. Rosen

Organizations

  • National Rehabilitation Hospital

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Brain Injuries
  • Computers
  • Data Analysis
  • Drug Abuse
  • Health Services
  • Human Systems Integration
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Medical Personnel
  • Psychology
  • Tablet Computers
  • Therapy
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Virtual Reality
  • Word Processors

Readers

  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Medical or Health Care Field.
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology