Universal Design of Exercise Equipment for People with Disabilities

1. Universal Design of Exercise Equipment for People with Disabilities Michael J. Scott, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Primary Grant Support: U.S. Dept. of Education (OSERS/NIDDR) : RERC RecTech • Lack of access to exercise is a major health risk for people with disabilities • Wheelchair users are particularly challenged to find appropriate cardiovascular exercise; the common arm ergometer is a risk of shoulder overuse injury • Major equipment manufacturers and gyms have limited interest in what they perceive as a niche market • Regulation and standards driving the push for more universal equipment • Consider physiological requirements and usability needs first • Mechanism design to permit universally designed machines that serve the exercising population both with and without disabilities • Partnership with Life Fitness • Collaboration with investigators at SUNY Buffalo developing instruments to measure universality of products • Collaboration with standards developers in the United States (Beneficial Designs) and Great Britain (Inclusive Fitness Initiative) • Categorized and identified best candidate exercise motions for wheelchair users with different levels of function to achieve cardiovascular benefit without risk of overuse injury • First prototype of dual-use adapted Life Cycle 9500HR currently being tested on human subjects by colleagues Thayne Munce of Movement Sciences and Karen Troy of Kinesiology and Nutrition • Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) RecTech funding renewed through 2012 • Future developments: adaptation of strength equipment for cardiovascular use