Hi, all.
If someone is TRUELY interested in this field of endeavor, please email
my brother and he can get you connected to the right people. He is
director of services for handicapted students at Messiah College in PA.
He has a lot of people both on campus and around the country that do
this sort of thing. His email is: KDran@messiah,edu.

Several years ago I met a young engineer at a garage sale here in
Central Oregon. He was combining electronics, computers and mechanical
devices to allow severly handicapped/injured people mobility and
communication. I have lost track of him, now.

I am sure Keith will be able to point you in the right direction.

Several years ago he asked me to work up something to help a young lady
who had no use of her legs. She wanted to be a music teacher, but had
no way to operate the sustain pedal on a piano. Some people at Messiah
were working on a pneumatic device and he wanted someone to work on a
parallel track to see who could come up with the best device. I built a
foot operated by an old aircraft flap control I happened to have
around. They chose the pneumatic version. It was faster and quiter, but
mine had more power! A really fun project!

Paul