[il-talk] IIT research study for visually impaired swimmers

[sharon howerton]

Hi, all!
I spoke with this professor the other day which is the way in which I was 
sent the following information. I think the biggest error is that I think 
this meeting is on Saturday,not Sunday as he mentions in his message. If 
interested, please contact him directly.
Sharon



Greetings

I am a professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), one of three 
faculty members currently supervising the efforts of dedicated group of 11
undergraduates students who are designing and testing assistive devices that 
will enable blind and other low vision individuals to swim more 
independently,
i.e. without the assistance of one or two sighted associates to monitor 
their location in the pool. This project was started in spring 2007 and has 
gone
through several stages of development with previous testing on over 30 low 
vision swimmers, including a test at the Wisconsin School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired this past summer with swimmers ranging in age from  6 to 
26 and in skill from dogpaddlers to competitive athletes.

I have talked with several of you (and obtained the names of others who 
might be interested in various ways!) about our plans to conduct a pool test 
at
IIT on Sunday, November 22, from 2:30 to 5 pm to assess the effectiveness of 
some modifications or new approaches we have developed. I am contacting you
for assistance in identifying low vision individuals who might be interested 
in participating. Our research protocol has been approved by IIT's 
Institutional
Review Board (IRB) which supervises all research involving human subjects to 
ensure minimal risk and we will be using prescribed informed consent 
procedures.
We have had no instances of harmful effects in our previous tests and take 
great precautions to ensure a completely safe experience. Our previous 
participants
really enjoyed the opportunity to provide us with feedback and we are very 
indebted to them for that. Many in the Wisconsin group are hoping we will 
return
next semester. NOTE Swimmers under the age of 18 will need a parent or legal 
gaurdian to provide informed consent, either in advance or at the scene.

Two ways you could be of assistance would be (1) to provide us with contact 
information on potential individual participants (or provide them with our 
addresses
so they could contact us directly) and (2) to identify other professionals 
who could provide us with similar referrals.

I will be interviewed about this project for CRIS this coming Tuesday as 
another way to get the word of our pool test out to users of this service 
who might
be interested in taking part.

The 25 yard IIT pool is located in Keating Hall on East 31st Street, the 
only building on the north side of the street between State Street and 
Michigan
Ave. The main entrance faces east where Wabash Avenue has been converted 
into a dead end driveway. The pool is on the lower level at the south end of 
the
building.

I am available  by cell phone (almost 24/7!) or email to answer questions 
you might have, collect potential participant information from you or be 
contacted
directly by interested swimmers. We sould be delighted for any of you or 
your associates to visit during the test and for the swimmeers to bring 
friends or
relatives.

We will  modest capability to provide transportation for participants  or 
reimburxement

PHONE  312-218-3438

EMAIL
kschug at msn.com

Some Details

Our most developed device consists of the replacement of each lane divider 
with a rope to which foam rubber covered arm (called tappers) are attachéd 
perpendicularly
with a  3-4 foot gap in the middle, so that the swimmer's arms will touch 
the tappers only when deviating from the center of the lane and gently 
enable
guidance back to the middle. At each end a longer pair of tappers with a 
different feel (and  perhaps a sound) will be a warning that the end of the 
pool
is only a few feet away so the swimmer can safely prepare for a turn. We are 
also looking for a device tht can  e atgtached to the swimmer that can 
provide
information about lane and pool position via sound or vibration and thus 
wnable independent swimming. This type of device is in a less advanced stage 
of
design, e.g., with vibrators, what are the optimal positions and 
intensities.

Kenneth Schug 
Alternate contacts

Professor of Chemistry 
Dr. David Gatchell   dgatchel at iit.edu

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois 60616 
Dr. Frank Lane           lane at iit.edu

312-218-3438


ken schug