The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to hear the nation's best ideas for how to use technology to improve quality of life for veterans with disabilities.
The VA's new Innovation Creation Series for Prosthetics and Assistive Technologies is a two-month campaign that seeks to gather ideas for innovative ways to solve problems that disabled veterans face every day.
"We're reaching out to technology leaders in the corporate world and to the public in order to find creative new solutions to help transform care and quality of life not only for our veterans, but for the public at large," VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald said. "The innovations that come out of this challenge will benefit the veterans we care for and will be open source to help advance American medicine."
The series launched on May 15 in Palo Alto, California. According to Stanford University, guest speakers at the launch included Beijing Paralympics gold-medalist Oscar Sanchez, director of the Center for Women Veterans Elisa Basnight, and White House Maker-In-Residence Stephanie Santoso.
According to the VA, the organization is calling for innovators to submit ideas to address the following five challenges:
- Develop a device that can be put on the end of an upper or lower extremity prosthetic for use in daily life.
- Create a pillbox with a built-in reminder system that can be used for pills that need to be taken up to eight times a day.
- Design technology that would change the speed and grip strength of an upper extremity prosthetic.
- Develop a video game controller that would provide alternative access for veterans who are using them in therapy.
- Create an apparatus to dampen tremors during the performance of tasks that require fine motor skills.
Solutions to these challenges would give disabled veterans greater autonomy and reduce some of the stress they deal with every day. They could also provide aid to members of the general public who face the same struggles.
The launch was the beginning of a tour that will cross the country en route to Washington, D.C., where the National Maker Faire takes place on June 12 and 13. The series will then conclude with final judging on July 29 at the Richmond VA Medical Center.