Fernie, 56, has transformed an interest in gadgets into a lifelong professional quest to find ways for people to overcome the ravages of disease or age and let them live as independently as possible.
"For old people and people with disabilities, winter is an enormous problem," said Fernie, vice-president of research at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. "We know people who just don't go out in winter, because by the time they've got their coats and boots on, they're exhausted."
So some of Fernie's colleagues are designing new forms of winter coats and boots that are easier to use.
"Weather is actually a big interest of ours," Fernie said, "if only because most of the assistive devices that currently exist don't work very well except when conditions are just right.
Fernie is not just content to do research -- his goal is to create products that people can buy and use.
For instance, he designed and brought to market the SturdyGrip pole -- a movable handgrip that makes it easy for people to get out of chairs and beds. A product called Staxi -- a stackable transport chair -- enables people to get around in hospitals without having to wait for a volunteer.
This is great work to help these folks function more independently.
From CNN.
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