ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a relationship between assistive technology (AT) and universal design (UD), describing the efforts of practitioners and researchers to measure both, and recommending approaches suited to the understudied needs in medical instrumentation. Both the use of assistive technology devices (ATDs) and the application of UD strategies provide concurrent interventions/preinterventions that can improve functional outcomes of people with disabilities. Specifically, the IMPACT2 model and A3 Model are discussed, and both of these models address a person’s interaction with the environment. Commonly used items, such as the telephone, were originally developed to assist a specific population with a disability and are now accepted universally by society. Developers have struggled to make AT and medical instrumentation universally designed, due to the limited number of assessments currently available on UD. Two strategies are listed to support the incorporation of UD and medical instrumentation. The first strategy is to use traditional methods of functional assessment. A second strategy involves developing an assessment that will specifically measure the level of UD for medical instruments.
