# Rehabilitation Research and Development Center for Wheelchairs and Rehabilitation Engineering

> **NIH VA I50** · VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION · 2024 · —

## Abstract

There continues to be an influx of Veterans with disabilities (VwD) using mobility devices due to aging, improved
medical care which has increased survival rates from severe injuries, and polytrauma resulting in multiple
disabilities. The VA provided 99,100 wheelchairs and scooters to Veterans in FY21. Our Center, entitled
Wheelchairs and Rehabilitation Engineering (WARE), will link capacity building and Voice of the Consumer
(VoC) and Voice of the Process (VoP) recommendations by creating core activities in promoting an innovation
environment assisting VwD and VA clinicians. Veterans are at the heart of everything that WARE does and strives
to achieve. WARE has always been Veteran-led and Veteran-focused with a significant number of Veterans
engaged at multiple levels. Participatory action design and engineering is and always has been the very heart of
WARE’s research and development (R&D). WARE collects data from focus groups, interviews, surveys, meta-
analyses, and peer-reviewed reports to generate roadmaps that address the needs of Veterans and technology
domains in need of advancement. WARE’s roadmap is organized into 4 core activities and 4 R&D thrusts:
Health & Well-being, Living in the Community; Education & Employment; and Travel & Leisure. We propose 9
core R&D projects that address the technology domains, research thrusts, and the VA 2022-2028 Strategic
Plan. Training the next generation of rehabilitation scientists and engineers is one of the most important
contributions a center can make to the long-term well-being of VwD. WARE is committed to mentoring new
investigators (especially Veterans) to help them to successful careers focused on VwD. WARE is committed to
remain a leader in assistive technology standards development and implementation. WARE’s proposed research,
development, and core activities will result in improved function and mobility outcomes of VwD. WARE will
leverage the expertise within VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS), industry partners, Veterans Service
Organizations, and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). WARE has been and will continue to be focused on making
tangible and measurable improvements for VwD who use wheelchairs and assistive technologies. An overarching
goal is to translate findings throughout VA and into use by VA and Veterans.
Keywords (Scientific Disciplines): Rehabilitation Engineering, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and
Physical Therapy.
Keywords (Research Foci): Advanced Wheelchair Design, Assistive Robotics, Human Machine Interfaces,
Participatory Action Design & Engineering, Rehabilitation Engineering, Wheelchairs

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10760918
- **Project number:** 2I50RX002998-06
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
- **Principal Investigator:** RORY A. COOPER
- **Activity code:** I50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2029-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10760918

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10760918, Rehabilitation Research and Development Center for Wheelchairs and Rehabilitation Engineering (2I50RX002998-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10760918. Licensed CC0.

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