Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting Individuals with Disabilities (RERC RecTech)

 

The mission of RERC RecTech is to expand new knowledge and research on recreation technology and exercise physiology to promote improved health, greater participation in community activities and higher quality of life for people with disabilities. This mission is carried out through a coordinated set of research, development and capacity building activities that develop and disseminate this new knowledge through products, education, training, and collaboration with the private sectors.

RERC RecTech's current areas of impact include the following:

 

• Promoting national and international standards for recreation and fitness equipment through a collaborative project involving leading proponents of standards in the United States and the Inclusive Fitness Initiative in the United Kingdom
• Evaluating the potential of immersive, engaging virtual exercise environments (VEEs) to increase participation in regular physical activity
• Development of an open-source standard protocol for physically active online gaming and distance exercise programs
• Research to establish energy expenditure equivalency tables to allow wheelchair users to estimate daily energy expenditure using inexpensive and widely available personal monitoring technologies such as pedometers and accelerometers
• Research and development of web-based environmental accessibility instruments linked to databased solutions to reduce accessibility barriers in fitness and recreational facilities
• Development of distance physical activitity programs that support online cooperative or competitive participation  
• Working with industry partner Life Fitness Corporation on a new generation of universally designed exercise equipment
  
  

RecTech RAMP Model

Restoring
Activity
Mobility
Participation

 

Conceptual Framework

The RAMP model consists of four components -- Access, Participation, Adherence, and Health and Function – each building on the previous component and reflecting the interconnectedness between components in achieving optimal health and well being among people with disabilities. The metaphor also reflects the logical sequencing of the four components: Access is necessary for Participation, and regular Participation and Adherence are necessary to obtain benefits in Health and Function. New and emerging technologies are used to address each component. Removal of barriers occurs by using these technologies to enable the environment and empower the person.

 

Research Projects

 

• R1: Biomechanical Validation and Efficacy of a Universally-Designed Accessory Unit for Manual Wheelchair Users
  Project Director: Karen Troy, Ph.D.
• R2: Utility of Common Activity Monitoring Devices in Measuring Energy Expenditure in Manual Wheelchair Users with SCI
  Project Director: Dan Ding, Ph.D.
• R3: Development of an Online Environmental Accessibility Instrument and Solutions Database for Fitness and Recreation Environments. Project Director: James H. Rimmer, Ph.D.
  
  

Development Projects

 

• D1: Virtual Exercise Environments for People with Disabilities
  Project Director: Jane Mulligan, Ph.D.
• D2: Remote Exercise and Game Architecture Language (REGAL)
  Project Director: Pat Banerjee, Ph.D.
• D3: Universal Design of Cardiovascular and Strength Fitness Equipment to Provide Effective Upper Body Exercise
  Project Director: Michael J. Scott, Ph.D.
• D4: Development of Uniform Standards for Accessible Fitness Equipment
  Project Director: Peter Axelson, Beneficial Designs
• D5: Online RecTech Solutions Wiki
  Project Director: Bruce Ankenman, Ph.D.

Capacity Building

• State of the Science Conference on Exercise and Recreational Technologies for People
  with Disabilities
• Infusion of Rehabilitation Engineering into the Curriculum
• Promoting Student Design and Innovation
• ACSM Distance Learning Project

 

For more information about RERC RecTech, please visit http://www.rectech.org.

 

 

 

Funding

 

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Recreational Technologies and Exercise Physiology Benefiting Individuals with Disabilities (RERC RecTech) at the University of Illinois at Chicago is funded by U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) (Grant #H133E070029).