Collaborative research seeks adaptive
technologies
for people with disabilities
Lex Frieden is collaborating with Jiajie Zhang, Ph.D., the Dr. Doris L. Ross Professor and associate dean for research at The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences at Houston (SHIS), on a proposal for an information management system to help people with disabilities make informed evacuation choices during natural or manmade disasters, and other catastrophic events. “We want to make sure they have the essential information to prepare for an evacuation and that, if evacuated, their healthcare information can be accessed at shelters and other places of safety,” Zhang said.
Zhang and Frieden, along with Todd R. Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor and SHIS’s associate dean for academic affairs, also will be working on cognitive adaptive technologies. Examples include the use of personal digit assistants (PDAs) to help people with Alzheimer’s disease remember their daily routines such as meals and medications and smart sensors that can guide people to navigate at home.
At the UT Medical School at Houston, Frieden is collaborating with Catherine Ambrose, Ph.D., an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery, on a grant to develop assistive robots that can be operated with a specially-designed exoskeleton. “These systems could be developed to perform tasks such as vacuuming or anything else that is needed,” said Ambrose, noting that NASA, Rice University and Memorial Hermann | TIRR also are involved.
“We are pleased to add Lex to our faculty. He will help to advance excellence in care to a fast-growing segment of our patient population and bridge the chasm between research and daily life,” said Giuseppe Colasurdo, M.D., dean of the UT Medical School at Houston.
The number of Americans with disabilities could reach 80 million by 2020.