Help for the Disabled

In 1962 a voluntary group, the Technical Assistance and Research Group for Physical Rehabilitation (TARGPR), was organized in Fredericton, New Brunswick. This group was formed to provide the opportunity for persons skilled in applied science and technology to contribute to the welfare of the physically handicapped. The purpose of the group was: "to assist the medical profession in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of the disabled, with particular reference to the rehabilitation of the physically handicapped." Among the sixteen members of this voluntary group were five electrical engineers, three medical doctors, two civil engineers, one chemical engineer and one mechanical engineer and one kinesiologist. A majority of the members were on the staff of the University of New Brunswick or the Forest Hill Rehabilitation Centre Inc. Original financial support was received from the New Brunswick Co-ordinating Council for the Handicapped and from private donations. Modern medical techniques have made long life possible for those handicapped through congenital malformations, trauma or disease. This has presented a challenge to the engineering profession to provide powered assistive devices for the physically handicapped. These devices include prostheses, such as artificial limbs, and orthoses, such as functional splints. These devices require activation by other body parts to be functional. For example, a conventional artificial hand may be operated by cable and shoulder harness. TARGPR began research and development of control systems which use electrical input signals originating in the human body. The input signal is derived from the muscle