The purpose of this project is to complete the development and clinical testing of an Assistive Dining Device (ADD) that can assist individuals with disabilities to independently feed themselves. The ADD operational concept was designed to make minimal cognitive and motoric demands on the user. Persons with impairments due to quadriplegia, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, arthritis, and neurological impairments represent individuals for whom the ADD may provide needed assistance. Feasibility demonstration hardware was previously developed and used for testing with individuals with disabilities and mental retardation. The test results proved that people with severe disabilities are able to eat independently. However, the demonstrator system must be repackaged into a self-contained, economical, reliable unit before it can be made commercially available. The phase I program resulted in a top level design and an associated cost and reliability assessment. The results show that an ADD can be manufactured within target costs and with the desired characteristics. The Phase II grant will complete the ADD design and fabricate test units that will be used in extensive clinical evaluations to quantify the effectiveness of the device and to ensure that the design fully addresses the needs of the user.
Commercial applications include private homes, group homes, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and other institutions that provide services to children and adults with the appropriate characteristics.
