Title: Explain the importance of studying human movement, mobility impairments, and rehabilitation.
Course: Biomedical Engineering (21049) > Section: Exploring Human Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Engineering

Explanation should include a discussion of the following:

•    Every person is likely to be disabled at some point in their life
•    The effect of one limitation to a person’s autonomy and control of their environment
•    The struggles with self-concept among persons with disabilities and the challenges they face with how others perceive them
•    The importance of quality of life as the focus of rehabilitation
•    The importance of taking the end user into account

Process/Skill Questions:

•    What are the most common types of disabilities?
•    How does one perceive disability in others?
•    How does the perception of disability vary even among persons with the same disability?
•    How does the perception of the various users affect design?
•    What are the differences in biomechanics across species?
•    What equipment is typically used to determine needs in rehabilitation?
•    Where can one find relevant data? How does one determine if data is accurate?
•    How does human variability affect experimental design and data collection?
•    Who might constitute our client/end user when it comes to disabilities?
•    What are examples of factors affecting quality of life?
•    How might autonomy be decreased/increased?

Teacher Resources:

•    National Biomechanics Day (NBD), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
•    NBD Celebrates the World of Biomechanics! The Biomechanics Initiative