Garrett Kryt, a fourth-year undergraduate engineering student from British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, Canada, was awarded the “Technology Most Likely to Become Commercially Available” prize in the 2015 RESNA Student Design Competition. His project, “Design of a Hitch Mounted Car Rack for a Handcycle,” solved a problem for a client that owned a customized electric-assist handcycle that did not fit commercially-available racks. Kryt’s design allows a wheelchair user to independently mount and dismount a heavy handcycle without having to lift the full weight of the bike; it also allows the user to access the vehicle’s rear hatch without dismounting from the bike. The design was partially inspired by his own love of cycling. 

 

The prize, sponsored by the Center for the Translation of Rehabilitation Engineering Advances and Technology (TREAT), includes a $500 cash prize and access to TREAT educational and commercialization resources, including an internship opportunity at the TREAT facility in Lebanon, NH, to develop the product for market. TREAT is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R24 network of rehabilitation resource centers (# R24HD065703) and is funded through the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD).

 

Kryt’s design was one among six semi-finalist teams out of 45 entries chosen to attend the annual RESNA conference June 11-14 in Denver, CO. Each team presented their designs to the RESNA community of assistive technology professionals, rehabilitation engineers, clinicians, developers, and manufacturers. While at the conference, Kryt had the opportunity to attend workshop sessions and display his project at the Developer’s Forum, a unique conference event that allows developers to receive direct feedback from professionals who create, develop and recommend technologies to people with disabilities. “It was really great to meet so many people who had a real passion for rehabilitation engineering,” said Kryt. “I was impressed to hear about all the interesting work being done in the field.  This opened my eyes to all the types of work being done.”

 

“As an independent innovator, Garrett identified a lifestyle need and took action,” said Jonathan Beckwith, Associate Director of TREAT. “He incorporated feedback from the client, which is key to a successful design; his professionalism, dedication and compassion was an inspiration to all of us on the judging panel.” 

 

Every student design competition submission is available on the RESNA Student Design Competition website, where members of the professional community can view the designs in detail, provide feedback, ask questions, and contact the designers directly. The annual competition is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and by TREAT.  The deadline for registering to enter the 2016 Student Design Competition is April 1, 2016.