Perspectives is the newsletter of the Stanford course,
Perspectives in Assistive Technology.

Aesthetics Matter

This issue announces the next class session
and encourages your participation in the course's Assistive Technology Faire.

Course News

Course Statistics - Forty-three students have enrolled in the course, four students are auditing, eleven vendors plan to participate in the Virtual Assistive Technology Faire, and twenty-six students have chosen to work on nineteen projects, ten suggested by six community members.

Next class session - Thursday, February 18th at 4:30pm PST via Zoom

Abstract: Aesthetics Matter: The use of an assistive technology occurs within a socio-cultural context. Social attributes related to devices and cultural judgments concerning independence and dependence, having or not having a disability, seem to represent powerful influences on whether devices are accepted into a person's daily public and private routines. Aesthetics play a vital role in whether or not someone will actually use what you design. We will look at products by Bespoke, Compact Cath, Charles and Ray Eames, and others through the lens of aesthetic consideration. Jules will discuss two personal electronic response projects she worked on as a graduate student and subsequently as a contractor for Great Call and QMedic Health, which focused primarily on aesthetics in order to encourage people to use their device.

Empathy and Problem Definition: "Tools and methods for developing empathy and uncovering insights will be discussed through telling the story of an assistive technology I have been working on for over four years. Design is a non-linear process. Keeping one's user at the center of the work will ensure that your product solves an important problem."

Biosketch: Jules Sherman is a designer and entrepreneur who is passionate about designing human-centered products that improve quality of life. Jules holds an MFA from the Stanford Graduate Design Program. As a product designer, she has always been interested in improving the aesthetics and usability of assistive technology. Jules is currently co-developing a new nurse innovation program at Children's National Hospital in Washington DC which entails developing a better way to share problems experienced by nurses, running design thinking workshops, and co-creating product solutions for vetted needs. For the past 8 years, Jules has designed and co-taught original curricula with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital clinicians focused on healthcare design (products/services) at The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. Lastly, Jules is the founder of Maternal Life, LLC, a company devoted to developing products that improve healthcare outcomes for women and children. Her first product Primo-Lacto: A closed system for colostrum collection, was acquired by Lansinoh in 2018. She is currently working on another hospital product called NOOMA with colleagues from Stanford Medicine to help facilitate delayed cord clamping for the preterm infant population. NOOMA will begin a clinical study in early 2021 with the preterm infant population at Sharp Mary Birch in San Diego, CA..

Zoom Attendance

This class session will not be open to community attendance - This decision has been made due to the loss of audio quality during the first class session - mostly likely due to the large number of attendees and a poor WiFi connection. For these reasons, I must restrict Zoom attendance to enrolled students. Individuals affiliated with Stanford can request to be invited to the class session. However, I will provide the link to this recorded video session to anyone who requests it.

Upcoming class sessions:

• Tuesday, February 23rd - Improving Home Environments for Older Adults
• Thursday, February 25th - Assistive Technology Faire
• Tuesday, March 2nd - Normalcy Fallacy: Reimagining Mobility for Scientific Discovery & Innovation and Designing Exoskeletons and Prosthetic Limbs that Enhance Human Performance

Assistive Technology Faire

LAST CALL to participate in the Virtual Assistive Technology Faire - This ninth annual course event is scheduled for Thursday, February 25th and will provide an opportunity for students and community members to get an up-close look at a variety of assistive technology devices and learn about available services. Users of assistive technology products as well as small companies and agencies serving individuals with disabilities and older adults are encouraged to join in on this virtual event. Please browse to the Call for Assistive Technology Faire Participants webpage for more information and contact me to register. Each vendor will have 5 to 10 minutes of unopposed Zoom time to display, demonstrate, and discuss their assistive technology products or services. Everyone is welcome to attend the Faire. Ten vendors have signed up to participate so far. Here is the line up and slides from last year's Faire.

Other

Email questions, comments, or suggestions - Please email me if you have general questions, comments, corncerns, or suggestions regarding the course. Thank you again for your interest.

Dave