Anthony Staros,
MS
Born: July 17, 1923 -
Freeport, NY
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Entry into the AT field:
1950
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How I got into the
field
I first started in "Assistive
Technology" in 1950 by working with Eugene Murphy at the U.S. Veterans
Administration in New York. The emphasis at the time was on World War II and
Korean War wounded veterans, mainly amputees. Since Gene was polio affected, he
and I, both engineers, conducted assessments of the existing orthotics hardware
and processes then available for providing orthoses. We also assessed
biomechanics associated with fitting people with orthopedic disabilities.
Working with Gene Murphy, I rapidly learned
the essence of the roles of assistance technology in the areas of mobility and
sensory deficits. I was completely enamored by the field after my earlier
post-World-War II assignment in munitions and aircraft technology. I was quite
content to swing away from my warfare capacities to the peaceful accommodations
of research and development to confront the disabilities from war as well as
accidents and disease. I had degrees from Cornell University and Stanford
University, a significant preparation for the challenges at the Department of
Veteran Affairs. There were others present in my professional development: My
peers, as well as my mentors, from the National program established by the
National Academy of Sciences; People at New York University, Northwestern
University, The University of California (Berkeley and Los Angeles), the
medical people in the Department of Veteran Affairs and the consultants in
orthopedic surgery. I not only taught many of these people, I learned from
everyone. I was particularly proud of my connections with Canadian colleagues
whom I came to truly respect.
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Important event(s) that influenced
my early decision to get into the assistive technology field
I didn't "get into" the assistive technology
field; it grew up around me and I hung on to grow with it. A major happening
took place in 1979 after Dr. James Garrett of NIDRR took a bunch of the early
"rehabilitation engineers" from the newly structured laboratories which he had
funded (and a few like me from government laboratories) and verbally lashed out
at us to get our act together, to not only produce accomplishments but to
display them, to help him raise money from Congress. Joseph Traub was Jim's
associate and he pulled on A.B. Wilson and me to help him. We organized two
successive national (annual) conferences, one in Washington D.C. and the 2nd,
in Atlanta, Georgia. Both were successes. From these, with oversight by a
special group (of Colin McLaurin, A.B. Wilson, Doug Hobson, Jim Reswick, Joe
Traub, and me), we were able to establish RESNA with some great assistance from
an existing organization already established in assistive technology and with
the help of many Canadian engineers and other clinical personnel. The Assistive
Technology "International Consolidation" had taken place!
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Why I chose the AT
field
A new field had been
established, and I was proud to be a small part of it. This to me was a key
success within my career. I had the same satisfaction in helping to establish
the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics in 1970, also an
"assistive technology" entity. Both were new fields; both were now
"organized."
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My inspiration and
mentor
A. B. Wilson and Gene Murphy
were my key mentors in prosthetics-orthotics. The entire RESNA founding
membership of that time were my inspirations. Wilson and Murphy were the lead
players in helping me to shape my career and my contributions, almost on a
daily basis. Jim Reswick was always there on assistive technology in general.
But the talented technical people working in our "VA Prosthetics Center" were
my pillars of support: Carl Mason, Vern Huston, Ron Arroyo, Saleem Sheredos,
and Jerry Weisman.
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Why the field is important to me
and the central focus of my work
The
central focus of my work changed significantly as a result of the Viet Nam War.
Up until the peak of that war, we at USVA were mainly concerned with R&D
related to casualties of World War II and Korea, mostly amputees. We were soon
made aware of the sharply-superior casualty-recovery capability of the
helicopter in the Viet Nam War. Rescue was very rapid, saving many lives by
prompt treatment especially for SCI wounded. Those rescued were in need of
quick medical and surgical interventions. Thus, rehabilitation efforts took on
increased urgency to emphasize research and development in assistive
technology. Our VA laboratories began new projects in mobility systems
(wheelchairs), bedding and seating, upper limb functional orthoses and FES,
better orthotics for paraplegics, and technical aids to meet many of the
problems in environmental situations for quadriplegic patients. As a result we
began having an impact on SCI clinical care alongside the on-going
orthotics-prosthetics clinical efforts.
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My memorable successes and
greatest contributions to the field
The most notable successes were made in
prosthetics-orthotics terminology; skills training of clinical personnel and
prosthetists and orthotists; medical rehabilitation personnel training;
development of new devices and techniques especially for SCI patients; all
accomplishments were quite rewarding..
The greatest contributions were in the somewhat
painful chores of writing two constitutions, for ISPO and RESNA. Both were
needed for establishing the societies.
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My most memorable
failures
Memorable failures were in
not having well-funded research programs in the technologies which could have
helped us to ease the problems in; phantom pain in amputees, nerve regeneration
in SCI and body sites for environmental control in quadriplegia.
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Significant changes and advances
in the field since I first entered it
Significant changes in the field have occurred
based on computer technology and electronic systems developments. This has
fostered ease of access to information, a very basic need in research and
development as well as in clinical care. There have also been significant
changes and advances in communication and miniaturization of devices in
medicine.
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On the future of rehabilitation
engineering and assistive technology
Foreseen is massive expansion of technology in
all aspects of life and human development. With rehabilitation technology there
will be assistive devices of many sorts and sizes meeting the needs of people
with disabilities. The rehabilitation engineer will be the key innovator in
broader human applications of technology, based in part on designs for persons
with disabilities.
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My role within RESNA and what it
gave back to me
RESNA was a notable
accomplishment within my career 25 years ago. I look now at RESNA with a bit of
pride. It was a very significant set of experiences.
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On the future of RESNA
I see the future RESNA member taking advantage of
physical medicine and technology to develop new ways of making life easier,
more satisfying, and more enduring.
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My suggestions for those just
entering the field
The new entries
into the field should be told of all the benefits they will access: first from
the mix of technologies, from a global perspective in the problems of people
with disabilities and from the satisfying rewards in the achievements they will
have in contributing to a broad population of users of technology.
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