Veritas, Vol. 37, No. 06, February 1995

              For the Faculty and Staff of the University of Miami
February 1995 Volume 37 Number 6
Engineers, physicians team up to take a bold step lor the disabled
[This is the first of an occasional series examining cross-disciplinary research and its problem-solving synergy.]
A child’s pair of roller skates is proving to be the unlikely link between medical researchers and engineers exploring new methods of mobility for disabled individuals.
Part of the fun of skating is how it takes hardly any energy to travel great distances. And that’s exactly what makes a cross-disciplinary group of University professors think disabled individuals could benefit from their use.
Peter Tarjan, chairperson, Department of Biomedical Engineering, together with researchers from the School of Medicine has developed a type of “rolling footwear” with brakes that reduces the amount of energy required for mobility. “Individuals with ambulatory disabilities often need to invest enormous amounts of effort into getting around,” he says.
After ten non-disabled volunteers tested the device, Tarjan and his colleagues found that the human power requirement for walking with the rolling footwear was well within the range of normal effort.
“This data shows that it’s well within the capabilities of a healthy person to use these without getting particularly tired,” Tarjan says. “We believe that disabled individuals who cannot ambulate normally will be able to derive significant benefit from using the rolling footwear while moving about with a walker or other assistance.”
The idea for the rolling footwear originated with a phone call from Stephen J. Strieker, associate professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.
“Dr. Strieker called me about six or seven years ago looking for assistance in a project involving children with
Dean Fogel receives McLamore Service Award
Bernard J. Fogel, the man hailed by one colleague as “the conscience of our medical center,” was honored by the Faculty Senate as the 1994 recipient of the James W. McLamore Outstanding Service Award.
“Let the work praise the master,” began Lawrence Fishman, professor of
Faculty Senate President KamaI Yacoub; James W. McLamore, board chairperson emeritus;
President Edward T. Foote II; and Dean Bernard J. Fogel.
medicine, paraphrasing the Talmud, the Jewish book of wisdom, in his introductory remarks.
“Bernard Fogel puts people ahead of buildings and daily business, and like a truly good pediatrician he listens long and hard,” he continued. “He is a teacher of lessons for the future who
sees the medical school not only as a center of biology and science but also as a center for social science with a responsibility to the community.”
Under his tenure as senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, the School of Medicine doubled its faculty members and expanded scientific research. He engendered a “culture of compassion” as well; for its outstanding community service the School of Medicine won the first annual Association of American Medical Colleges Award. Fogel has been involved with the University for the greater part of 40 years as a student, resident, faculty member, and academic administrator.
“I am one extraordinarily lucky individual,” he reflected, accepting the award, named for the board of trustees’ chairperson emeritus.
“The Faculty Senate has recognized me for doing what I love so much. There is no way I can begin to describe how satisfying it feels to help people, whether it is on an individual basis or community-wide through our clinical services. We have the most professional and caring physicians and employees anywhere,” he concluded.
Fogel steps down as dean of the medical school in 1996.
Tarjan is joined by Shampa Sarkar, a former biomedical graduate student who assisted in the rolling footwear project. The elderly, stroke, and accident victims, and those suffering from joint disease are among those who may benefit from the device.
spina bifida,” Tarjan recalls. “He wanted help developing an energy recovery system so these children could move about easier, without wearing themselves out.”
Insufficient funds brought the project to a halt.
“I kept thinking about the problem until one day it occurred to me that maybe roller skates with automatic brakes could benefit them,” he says, adding that safe and effective rolling footwear for disabled persons could be an important advance in rehabilitating a variety of individuals with permanent or temporary ambulation problems.
Potential users of these new “rehabilitative roller skates” include those affected by traumatic spinal cord injury (accident victims), severe joint disease, or degenerative neurological conditions who are still able to initiate and control lower extremity movement. Tarjan and his colleagues also hope that stroke victims, the elderly, and children with congenital disabilities can be helped by this device.
“The key to getting around on the rolling footwear is the ability to initiate hip flexion,” says Mark Nash, assistant
professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, and a member of the research team.
Here is how they work: The skates are strapped on to the individual’s shoes, somewhat like the old-fashioned roller skates of yesteryear. The user stands with the aid of a walker while the brakes are locked. To roll forward, the individual reduces his weight on the heel, automatically unlocking the brake. When the individual applies his full weight to the heel, the brake re-locks and no forward movement is possible.
Although they look primitive, the
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Ring productions downtown
The show will go on for theater arts students while its longtime home, the Ring Theatre, undergoes a year-long renovation.
Production will continue at the University’s Ashe Auditorium, located in the James L. Knight Center,
400 S.E. Second Avenue, Miami.
Torch Song Trilogy, Harv ey Fierstein's humorous and poignant Tony Award-w inning play, opens the season February 22-26. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream concludes the season April 26-30.
Tickets may still be purchased directly from the Ring box office or at the w ill-call window' day-of-show at the Knight Center.
The move represents not only new marketing opportunities for the program, but good performance experience for the actors. “It gives the students a chance to perform in a different setting. Every structure has its own life and requires the performers to adapt,” explains Kent Lantaff, the Ring’s managing director.
When the curtain goes up in the new Jerry Herman Theatre in February 1996 it will be just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the mainstage program at the University.
The Jerry Herman Theatre w ill be outfitted with state-of-the-art
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Cindy Karp