First Blog-June 12: Take Off
“9 hours, 51 minutes with the wind at our back”… It sounded like we’d touch down in Accra a half hour early this time. In many ways preparing for this project felt like old hat – I knew the basic supplies I would need, where to stay, and who contact. As we pushed off the [...]
Reflections on a summer spent designing wheelchairs in Guatemala
BLOGGING FROM THE FIELDJuly 29, 2011 Public Service Fellow Paul Lazarescu ’13 is working with Transitions Foundation in Antigua, Guatemala, helping to develop a hybrid wheelchair that can be used both for everyday and for active use. After spending almost a month and a half in Guatemala, I feel that we’ve accomplished a great deal. [...]
[Wheelchair] Basketball diaries: Hugo Aquino, Dreammaker of Guatemala
BLOGGING FROM THE FIELD Third Blog- July 7, 2011 Public Service Fellow Paul Lazarescu ’13 is spending this summer working with Transitions Foundation in Antigua, Guatemala, helping to develop a hybrid wheelchair. Hugo Aquino is in charge of Transitions’ Foundation Workshop, which makes and modifies wheelchairs for disabled Guatemalans. Aquino is also the Captain of [...]
Designing the perfect wheelchair
BLOGGING FROM THE FIELD Second blog- June 29, 2011 In this post Paul Lazarescu describes the process of designing a wheelchair to suit the rough roads of Antigua, Guatemala. Paul spending the summer in Antigua, working with the Transitions Foundation to design, develop, and test new wheelchair designs and accessories. Wheelchairs in Guatemala, Part II [...]
A wheelchair for young people in Guatemala
BLOGGING FROM THE FIELD First blog- May 25, 2011 My name is Paul Lazarescu and I’ve just finished my sophomore year at MIT, where I study Mechanical Engineering. I’m spending this summer in Antigua, Guatemala, where I will be working with Transitions Foundation to design and manufacture a wheelchair for active users. During Wheelchair Design [...]
Using neem extract to combat malaria
Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases in tropical and subtropical regions. It is responsible for the deaths of between one and three million people annually, the majority of them young children. Team members Arne Bomblies, Rebecca Gianotti ’08, Mustafa Dafalla ’09, and Paul Montgomery ’07 of Malaria Solutions have developed a malaria [...]
Welding the two-speed tricycle drivetrain
Most of the wheelchairs in the developing world that have been donated by international agencies are built to be pushed around on smooth linoleum floors. Traveling on rough, sandy roads with steep inclines, ruts, and declines damages many of these wheelchairs, leaving many mobility-disabled people to drag themselves to their destination. With the development of [...]
Improving TB treatment with Team Treatment Buddies
Tuberculosis claims nearly 2 million lives annually. The vast majority of these deaths occur in the developing world, where lack of drug adherence leads to new and deadly drug-resistant strains. TB fatalities arise not from a lack of scientific knowledge—effective treatment was developed in 1946—but in the last mile of treatment. Figuring out where treatment [...]
Using the 6dot Braille Labeler
The 6Dot Braille Labeler, a portable electronic label maker for the visually impaired, originated in MIT Professor David Wallace’s 2.009 Product Engineering Processes. The 6dot team was awarded a 2009 IDEAS implementation grant of $7500 in 2009. Since then, the team has worked to conduct further in-depth user trials of their prototype and are now [...]
Fine-tuning brakes on the Leveraged Freedom Chair
Wesley McDougal ’12 with co-worker Isaac discussing how to best fine-tune the brakes of the Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC). The Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC), a lever-powered mobility aid, won the R&D 100 Award and was one of three Editor’s Choice Awards. The award is sponsored by the R&D magazine, which features state of the art [...]
Physiology Understanding Week
Alexandra Elisa German (G, Course HST) and Grace Sock Leng Teo (G, Course HST) using an activity to explain blockage of blood vessels with coffee sticks and straws during Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn Week) in November 2010. PhUn Week, a nationwide outreach program building connections between scientists and their local schools, aims to engage students [...]
Preparing to paint the Leveraged Freedom Chair
Summer 2010 Public Service Fellow Nydia Ruleman (’12 Course 2) is preparing the completed frame of the Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC) for painting in Antigua, Guatemala. The LFC was designed by the MIT Mobility Lab to utilize upper body strength through a lever-drive system. The drivetrain, which is made from bicycle components, allows the user [...]
Explaining physiology
Harry Benjamin Larman (G, Course HST) explains bones and the skeletons with children for Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn Week) November 2010. PhUn Week is a nationwide outreach program building connections between scientists and their local schools.
