Innovative Medical Technology Helps Patients with Muscular Dystrophy

Taped on the campus of NJIT, Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Madeline Corrigan, Post Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Post Doctorial Research Associate at NJIT, to discuss how she is helping develop technology that would change the lives of patients with muscular dystrophy.

9/22/17 #2076

Excerpt:

"Hi. My name is Zachary Smith. I'm the dissemination consultant for NJIT for the upcoming study of the new adaptive arm supports initiative called Project Continuum. Project Continuum is being developed by Talem Technologies to help people like me live a more independent life. Wow. Now we're gonna find out more about that research. We're joined by Doctor Madeline Corrigan, who is a postdoctoral research associate, the Department of Biomedical Engineering here at NJIT. Good to see you. Good to see you. What were we just looking at? Thanks for having me. So what you're looking at there is an individual that we have involved in one of our research projects. And as you can see from the video, he is actually an individual with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Duchenne...? Muscular dystrophy. ...muscular dystrophy? Correct. And one great thing about our project and sort of my philosophy on research and development is ensuring that the user of whatever product we're developing is involved in every step of that process. How so? In defining user needs, and sort of being a checkpoint along the way to make sure we're properly meeting those needs. It can't be about what a researcher thinks somebody wants, or a creative way that they may think solves a problem. It's about making sure that these individuals find a real use. And not only that it could potentially solve a problem, but that it can fit into their lives in a way that's unobtrusive and doesn't provide any additional barriers in other aspects of their lives. This research? Mm hmm. Potentially improving the quality of life for those who are dealing with muscular dystrophy. Why does this matter to you so much? This matters to me because I really got involved in this research for a very personal connection that I had to the community already. 13 years ago, back when I lived in Minnesota, I started volunteering for the Muscular Dystrophy Association Summer Camps, which is a set of camps across the country where for a weeklong overnight camp, kids with neuromuscular conditions can come and just be kids without barriers. I've been volunteering there now for 13 years. It got me very interested in assistive technology, and sort of the specific community, and then in college I ended up being paired with a roommate who just so happened to be a former camper at that camp, and we became quick friends, and lived with each other for the next three years through college. And that just further instilled in me the importance of assistive technologies to allow these individuals to live their lives instead of spend..."