S.I. Students Win Grant To Make A Better Wheelchair
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Staten Island Technical High School in Oakwood Heights is the first city school to win a $10,000 grant from MIT, after creating an idea for making a better wheelchair. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.Students at Staten Island Tech in Oakwood Heights say they've come up with a way to make life more comfortable for people who use wheelchairs.
Their project, called the "Comfort Control Wheelchair Seat," recently won a $10,000 grant from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which will allow them to continue their research:
"Wheelchair design hasn't really changed fundamentally in a very long time," says student Derek Bonderczuk. "We're looking to bring a lot of new innovations to the wheelchair design and we're looking to benefit people in a fashion that hasn't been accomplished before."
Called InvenTeams, MIT sponsors the nationwide contest in the hopes of inspiring teams of high school students, teachers and mentors to invent technological solutions to real-world problems.
Staten Island Tech's team is the first one in the city to win the award, and just one of 15 winning teams across the country. The group of 12 students began their work this summer by visiting rehab units at area hospitals, talking to people who use wheelchairs and investigating ways to make them better.
Their solution was to create a seat that can relieve pressure, manage the temperature and resist bacteria.
"There are many different types of seats out there but some of them don't address the issue of excoriation or skin rashes," says engineering teacher Steve Raile.
Students are also looking at ways to make the chair omni-directional, run on smaller, high-powered batteries and use Bluetooth technology to monitor health issues and provide instant information to health care professionals in the event of an emergency.
The team presented their project to the community Friday, in the hopes of gaining financial support. Staten Island Councilman James Oddo has promised $5,000 to help them, as well as technological support and feedback.
"Anything that can take a person with a disability and put them back into the community and functionally independent in the community is great," says Anne Marie McDonough of Staten Island University Hospital.
For the next several months, students will continue to research and refine their project, and hope to complete three prototypes by April.