Technology considerations for persons with stroke

Elizabeth Vasquez is a PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Her research in rehabilitative and assistive technology uses a community-centered approach to create more accessible technology for stroke survivors with motor disabilities, particularly those who are medically underserved. She holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a MS from Stanford University. Her PhD has been funded by the NSF GRFP, Stanford VPDoR Research on Racial Equity and Justice Seed Grant, and the Stanford Impact Labs.

Stroke is a leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. There exist disparities in both stroke prevalence and outcomes between people with stroke in Hispanic and Latinx communities and the general stroke population. Current stroke technology – which aims to improve quality of life and bring people with stroke to the most functional, independent state possible – has shown promising results for the general stroke population, but has failed to close the recovery outcome gap for underserved Hispanic and Latinx people with stroke. Previous work in health education, digital health, and HRI has improved human health outcomes by incorporating social-cultural factors, though not for stroke. In this talk, I will (1) justify accounting for unique cultural factors in stroke technology design for the Hispanic and Latinx community (2) review examples of successful culturally appropriate interventions and (3) suggest design considerations to provide more culturally appropriate design of Hispanic and Latinx stroke technology and reduce the disparity gap.

David L. Jaffe holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a MS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University.

Prior to coming to Stanford, Dave was a Research Biomedical Engineer at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System’s Rehabilitation Research and Development Center. His interests there were designing, developing, testing, and bringing to market microcomputer-based devices for veterans with disabilities including communication, mobility, and information systems. He worked on several VA assistive technology research projects including an powered wheelchair interface for individuals with quadriplegia, an electro-mechanical fingerspelling hand that served as a communication device for people who are deaf/blind, a system that explored virtual reality techniques to train individuals with gait deficits to improve their walking, and a project that employed a computer-based simulation system to assess and improve the driving ability of individuals after brain injury.

In addition to organizing this course, ENGR110/210: Perspectives in Assistive Technology, he contributes to other Stanford courses including defining the quarterly course projects in ME218: Smart Product Design and ME310: Engineering Design Entrepreneurship and Innovation as well as mentoring students working on assistive technology projects throughout the year.