Spring Break
Student invention eases movement
Innovation is designed to help people with cerebral palsy improve their arm movement
Aleks Cherednichenko
Issue date: 1/16/07 Section: News
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Cerebral palsy - a condition characterized by an inability to fully control motor functions, resulting in reduced muscle control and coordination - is caused by abnormalities in the brain that control muscle movement.
The device, called the Spencer SkyArm, was designed by Jeremy Trebelhorn when he was a student at University of Colorado at Boulder.
"It started as a class project," Trebelhorn said. Trebelhorn transferred to OSU in the spring of 2006.
Tyler Gerding, a sophomore specializing in entrepreneurship, has taken on the business aspect of the venture.
The invention was inspired by Spencer Mosley, a 13-year-old boy who has cerebral palsy.
The Spencer SkyArm is a sling device that supports the weight of the arm, easing the effect of gravity and making lateral arm movement easier.
"The Mosley family contacted the university to seek help with Spencer's symptoms - that's how the idea for the SkyArm got started," Trebelhorn said.
All major design work of the SkyArm prototype was done while Trebelhorn was attending school in Colorado.
"I was head designer within our group," Trebelhorn said.
According to United Cerebral Palsy Association, more than 500,000 people in the United States are affected with the condition.
The majority of children with cerebral palsy are born with it, although it may not be detected right away.
The disease cannot be cured, but with treatment a child's quality of life can be improved.
"The end product should assist people who are affected with three of the five types of cerebral palsy," Gerding said.
"Tyler and I met through a group of mutual friends, I told him about the SkyArm, and we just went from there," Trebelhorn said.
"A light bulb just went off in my head," Gerding said. The pair formed a business called 26th Street Technologies.
The Spencer SkyArm prototype had to be redesigned before it was introduced to the honors section of the Introduction to Entrepreneurship class at OSU.
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Pamela Holzhammer
posted 1/18/07 @ 12:10 PM PST
We think this is a wonderful and extremely important design by Jeremy Trebelhorn. His innovative ideas, coupled with the research and his passion for what he is designing will make this invention truly a success. (Continued…)
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