Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine's July issue focuses on assistive technology for spinal cord injury

Rory Cooper, Ph.D., of University of Pittsburgh is guest editor for JSCM special issue, 'Advances in Technology for People with Spinal Cord Injury'

The July issue of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine focuses on, "Advances in Technology for People with Spinal Cord Injury." Guest Editor Rory Cooper, PhD, is a member of the journal's Editorial Board. Dr. Cooper is the FISA/PVA Endowed Chair and a Distinguished Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. He is also the Center Director at the Center of Excellence for Wheelchair and Related Technology, VA Rehabilitation Research & Development Center, and a Senior Research Career Scientist at the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. His commentary, Technology, trends, and the future for people with spinal cord injury is available for free download: DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/1079026813Z.000000000197

Scientists, clinicians and engineers from the US, Mexico, Japan, the UK, and the Netherlands contributed to the special issue. Included are reviews on neuroprosthetic technology and functional assessment and performance evaluation for assistive robotic manipulators. Special articles address evacuation preparedness for wheelchair users, a computer-assisted rehabilitation environment for enhancing wounded warrior rehabilitation regimens and software wizards to adjust keyboard and mouse settings for people with physical impairments.

Research articles cover a range of topics:

• Vertical ground reaction force-based analysis of exoskeletal-assisted ambulation in persons with motor-complete paraplegia;
• Assessment of wheelchair driving performance in a virtual reality-based simulator;
• Development of an advanced mobile base for personal mobility and manipulation appliance generation II robotic wheelchair;
• Development and evaluation of a gyroscope-based wheel rotation monitor for manual wheelchair users;
• Effectiveness of local cooling for enhancing tissue ischemia tolerance;
• Health risks of vibration exposure to wheelchair users in the community;
• Physical strain of hand cycling: an evaluation using training guidelines for a healthy lifestyle as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine;
• Criterion validity and accuracy of global positioning satellite and data logging devices for wheelchair tennis court movement.