Narrative reflection written by Cameron Mains – Integrating Engineering, Technology, and Rehabilitation – Spring 2025

My engineering mindset hit a turning point during a recent class interaction that transformed my approach to rehabilitation technology. My group had just finished interviewing Dan, a stroke survivor, and my multidisciplinary team began to analyze his needs. As a medical device engineer, I immediately began categorizing his requirements: hand range of motion specifications, grip strength parameters, and motor control requirements. I documented his activity restrictions and participation limitations according to ICF classifications, including his inability to cut steak at restaurants and difficulties with buttons and belts.

When we reconvened as a class, something striking happened. A physical therapy student from our group, Ashley, shared Dan’s story in a way that made me completely reimagine how we approach patient needs. Rather than leading with technical specifications, she began with his identity as an orthopedic trauma surgeon and wove a narrative that captured both his challenges and triumphs. She shared vignettes that transformed my clinical observations into human experiences: choosing fish over steak at restaurants due to self-consciousness, adapting his wardrobe to navigate button difficulties, and finding innovative ways to contribute to his field through medical device patents for periprosthetic bone plates and infection-controlling surgical gowns.

As I listened, I felt a growing awareness of the limitations in my approach. Where I had reduced Dan’s experiences to design inputs and technical requirements, Ashley had preserved the humanity in each challenge. My engineering background had trained me to distill problems into quantifiable parameters, but I realized this approach, while valuable for device development, missed the crucial element of human experience that makes rehabilitation technology truly impactful.

This realization was simultaneously uncomfortable and enlightening. While I had felt confident during our small group discussion, drawing upon my biomedical innovation training to identify and categorize needs, I found myself grateful not to be called upon to present to the larger group. My technical analysis, though thorough, would have failed to capture the essence of Dan’s journey – particularly how he had transformed his surgical expertise into innovation through his fifteen medical device patents, finding a new way to impact patient care despite his physical limitations.

The experience revealed a crucial gap in my professional development: the ability to bridge technical understanding with human narrative. The clinical students’ approach demonstrated how patient stories could convey technical requirements while maintaining emotional resonance and human dignity. Their method didn’t just list problems to solve; it illustrated how these challenges impacted a person’s life story.

Moving forward, I plan to implement specific practices to integrate this insight into my approach to medical device engineering. I will start by adopting clinical documentation frameworks to ensure I capture both technical and personal aspects of patient needs. During user interviews, I’ll intentionally begin with open-ended questions about daily life before diving into technical requirements. I’ll practice using vignettes in my design presentations, highlighting how specific technical features enable meaningful life activities. For example, instead of just specifying grip strength requirements, I’ll connect them to activities like confidently handling utensils at social gatherings or maintaining independence in dressing.

This class session fundamentally shifted my perspective on rehabilitation technology development. Through Dan’s story and Ashley’s retelling, I learned that the most impactful innovations arise when we understand not just the technical specifications, but the dignity and life aspirations they serve. I’ll carry this lesson forward by always starting with the person’s story – their identity, their goals, their social context – and letting these human elements guide the technical requirements that follow.