August 30, 2024
Action News 4 visits Pittsburgh Inglis Innovation Center
BELLEVUE, Pa. — Inglis Innovation Center helps people living with disabilities and older adults navigate through life with adaptive technology.
Jeff Ruffing works at Inglis and enjoys helping people using technology.
"Individuals with disabilities have such unique problems, and being able to pair that scientific design side of it but also the human side of it and helping an individual achieve their goals is just so fulfilling for me," he said.
People with disabilities and older adults can go to Inglis or get help at home.
Dennis Spence has issues with his memory, and says he wouldn't know what to do without the center.
Spence uses services from the center and said, "They've done a great, great deal for me. They do things that I wouldn't have been able to do on my own."
He said, "I'm just glad there's people out there wanting to help."
Inglis has been guiding him through basic technology use, such as using computers and cellphones, to installing smart technology into homes, like voice command blinds and smart light bulbs.
Ruffing said 3D adaptive devices are made on the spot. If someone has problems with fine motor skills, attachments for forks, pens and blister pack openers for medicine can get them what they need.
For kids' toys, adaptive switches make fun, easy and modified video game controllers that can be used for all ages.
"We can mount these buttons in different positions, so if someone only has a shoulder shrug, we can kind of move that button to over there," Ruffing said.
Highmark Wholecare gave the center a grant to make it all possible.