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Mobility Rehabilitation Engineering and Research Center (RERC)

Mobility RERC Personnel

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Principal Investigator

Stephen Sprigle, PhD, PT

Stephen Sprigle serves as Principal Investigator of the Mobility RERC with responsibility for overall project management. Dr. Sprigle is a Professor in the Departments of Industrial Design and Applied Physiology at Georgia Tech. Dr. Sprigle is also the Director of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Applied Research Laboratory (REARlab) at Georgia Tech. He has more than 25 years of research experience and has had management and research responsibilities within four RERCs. Dr. Sprigle is a leading expert in wheelchair seating, pressure ulcer prevention, postural biomechanics, and AT outcomes and his collaborations at the national and international levels have resulted in invaluable opportunities for RERC outreach. In addition to his management duties, Dr. Sprigle directs or co-directs the following projects:

Staff

Randy Bernard, MID

Randy Bernard has over 15 years of experience in design with an emphasis on wheeled mobility devices. He was a Co-Director of the Mobility RERC prior to taking a position in the private sector as Director of Product Development. He has remained active within the mobility RERC and will serve as Principal Investigator of the project, "Height Adjustable Wheelchair Seat to Facilitate Transfers and Reac."

Jayme Caspall, MSME

Jayme Caspall is a licensed Professional Engineer and Research Engineer II at CATEA and the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. His expertise is systems integration and he has designed a wide variety of sensors, including those used for wheelchair and activity monitoring. He is the Principal Investigator of the project, “Development of Standards and Test Methods: Device to Measure Mechanical Work and Efficiency of a Manual Wheelchair."

Kevin Caves, ME, ATP, RET

Kevin Caves is a Rehabilitation Engineer at Duke University Medical Center, where he coordinates the Assistive Technology Clinic and participates in the RERC on Communication Enhancement. He also teaches rehabilitation engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering. He is the Co-Principal Investigator on the project, "Improved Wheelchair Prescription:"

William Delaune, PhD

William Delaune has over 32 years of research experience directly related to VA Rehabilitation Programs and is currently a senior research statistical consultant for the Atlanta VA Rehab R&D Center and CATEA. As the CATEA’s Biostatistician, he assists investigators in all projects to develop methodologies, test hypotheses and interpret results.

Maysam Ghovanloo, PhD

Maysam Ghovanloo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. His main research interests are assistive technology, neuroprosthetic devices, and brain-computer interface systems. He is the Principal Investigator of the project, “Proportional Tongue Drive System for Wheelchair / Computer Control”.

Fran Harris, PhD

Fran HarrisFrances Harris is an anthropologist specializing in disability, qualitative research and assistive technology outcomes. Her work centers on the conceptualization and measurement of participation among people with mobility disabilities. She co-developed with Drs. Sprigle and Sonenblum, the Participation and Activity Measurement System (PAMS) in order to better understand the activities and community participation of people who use wheeled mobility devices. PAMS combines objectively derived data on wheelchair use through the application of technologies such as GPS, with subjective data gathered through interviews and self report instruments. In the current mobility RERC, she directs the project, "Effects of Mobility Device and Environmental Facilitators on Activity and Participation." This study is assessing the impact of home modifications and wheelchair use on community participation using a combination of self report measures and in-depth interviews.

Helen Hoenig, MD, MPH

Helen Hoenig is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics, Duke University Medical School and Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center. She helps direct the Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training course and serves as Principal Investigator on the project, "Improved Wheelchair Prescription:"

Lawrence Landerman, PhD

Lawrence Landerman is a statistician and methodologist at Duke University School of Medicine. His major research interests include longitudinal research methods, functional change in older persons, and access to health care. He is a Co-Investigator on the project, "Improved Wheelchair Prescription:"

Chris Maurer , MPT, ATP

Chris Maurer is a Seating and Mobility Clinician at Shepherd Center. As part of the RERC research program on posture and function/wheeled mobility, her expertise has been critical to produce evidence relevant to service delivery. She serves as Co-Principal Investigator on the project, “Evidence-Based Online Wheelchair Seating and Positioning Course” and Principal Investigator for the project, "Inventor-Driven Product Development."

Michelle Nemeth, PT, CCRP

Michelle E. Nemeth is a physical therapist and clinical research scientist at the Shepherd Center/Crawford Research Institute. In addition to managerial and clinical research experience, she has extensive clinical experience in the areas of adult, adolescent and child neurological rehabilitation, intensive care, medical surgical and wound care. She serves as a Co-Principal Investigator on the project, "Improving Wheelchair Skills Using Video Feedback" and as a co-investigator on the project, "Ulcer Prevention: Susceptibility and Pressure Relief Effectiveness."

Susan Perlman

Susan Perlman is the Program Coordinator for the Mobility RERC. She serves as the main point of contact and assistance for the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheeled Mobility. Her responsibilities include tracking and reporting on grants and projects with the Mobility RERC as well as analyzing progress, checking compliance, and tracking project progress. Ms. Perlman also supports grant proposal preparation and submission, journal article submissions, and website content updates.

Jon Sanford, M.Arch

Jon Sanford is Director of CATEA, Co-Director of the Work RERC, an Adjunct Associate Professor of Architecture and a Research Architect at the Atlanta VA Rehab R&D Center. He is one of a few architecturally-trained rehabilitation researchers with expertise in environmental barriers to mobility. He is the Co-Principal Investigator for the project, "Effects of Mobility Device and Environmental Facilitators on Activity and Participation" and will direct the Evidence-Based Online Wheelchair Seating and Positioning Course and the State of Science Conference on Wheeled Mobility in Everyday Life.

Sharon Sonenblum, PhD

Sharon Sonenblum is a Senior Research Scientist in the School of Applied Physiology. She completed a doctorate in Bioengineering from Georgia Tech in August of 2009. For her dissertation, she studied the use and biomechanical effects of power tilt-in-space wheelchairs. Dr. Sonenblum has also played an important role in the REAR Lab's work on monitoring of wheelchair use, activity and participation and has an interest in pressure ulcer causation and prevention. She is a Co-Principal Investigator on the project, "Pressure Ulcer Prevention: Susceptibility and Pressure Relief Effectiveness:"

Hsiang-Yu (Claire) Yang, OTD, OTR/L

Hsiang-Yu (Claire) Yang is a research scientist at Georgia Tech's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA). She is also an occupational therapist with a specialty in assistive technology evaluation. Dr. Yang had been working at an assistive technology center in Taiwan and later came to the US and received her Occupational Therapy Doctorate degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Currently, she is a co-investigator of research projects related to workplace participation, effects of home modification on community participation, and environmental support needs for Georgia’s seniors. She is also involved in development of online training related to assistive technology and home/workplace accommodations.

Yong "Tai" Wang, Ph.D., FACSM

Yong "Tai" Wang, is a professor and Director of the Biomechanics and Wheelchair Locomotion Laboratory in the Division of Physical Therapy, Georgia State University. Dr. Wang, who is also a Tai Chi master, focuses his research on kinetic analyses and neuromuscular function of wheelchair locomotion, as well as the physical and mental benefits of Tai Chi. He co-directs the project, “Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training” and is the Principal Investigator for the project, "Improved Training to Improve Function:"

Graduate Students

Phuc Dao

Phuc Dao is a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering specializing in dynamics and vibrations. He graduated with a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech’s 5-year MS/BS program in May 2006. For his research project, he is working with Jayme Caspall, Dr. Stephen Sprigle, and Dr. Al Ferri on the project, "Development of Standards and Test Methods: Device to Measure Mechanical Work and Efficiency of a Manual Wheelchair."

Yiron LI

Yiron Li is a M.I.D. graduate student in Industrial Design specializing in creating concept wheel seat development. She graduated with a B.E. in Industrial Design from Nanjing Forestry University in Nanjing China 2009. For her current research project, Ms. Li is working with Dr. Stephen Sprigle on the development of a concept height-adjustable wheelchair.

Ricardo Lopez

Ricardo Lopez is an Electrical Engineer and a former Fulbright Fellow. He is currently working towards his doctoral degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. His work with the MRERC involves the design of hardware needed for wheelchair movement and pressure relief monitoring.

Advisory Board

The Mobility RERC Advisory Board consists of members from the following organizations:





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