About Beneficial Designs
About Us
Our Mission
Beneficial Designs works towards universal access through research, design, and education. We believe all individuals should have access to the physical, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of life. We seek to enhance the quality of life for people of all abilities, and work to achieve this aim by developing and marketing technology for daily living, vocational, and leisure activities.
Our Work
Beneficial Designs develops assistive and adaptive technology, performs rehabilitation research, contract design, legal consultation, standards development, and serves as a rehabilitation information resource.
Adaptive Recreation Equipment
After sustaining a spinal cord injury, Peter Axelson founded Beneficial Designs in 1981 to manufacture his Arroya Sit-ski design. Many Beneficial Designs devices, including hand controls for manual transmission vehicles, and a piano pedal pusher operated by the abdominal muscles, have been inspired by Peter Axelson's desire to reestablish the physical, intellectual, and spiritual balance in his own life.
Peter Axelson's zest for outdoor recreation has led Beneficial Designs to specialize in the development of a variety of adaptive recreation equipment, including mono-skis, cross-country snow skis, a wave ski for surf kayaking, and ultralight aircraft modifications.
To help wheelchair users maintain optimal hand/arm condition and flexibility, Beneficial Designs has developed a dynamic rowing machine to exercise the upper limb muscles that oppose normal wheelchair pushing.
Rehabilitation Research & Development
At Beneficial Designs, we develop assessment systems and devices to give people the information they need to access a variety of environments. This work includes developing the Universal Trail Assessment Process to obtain and deliver access information about outdoor recreation trails, and designing devices and methods to objectively measure surface firmness and stability, characteristics that impact accessibility.
We also develop technologies to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. This work includes designing, building, and testing innovative wheelchairs, ergonomic wheelchair back support shaping systems, and devices to assess hand strength that serve as clinical tools to research hand, arm, and shoulder overuse injuries common to manual wheelchair users.
Design Consultation
Beneficial Designs offers comprehensive design and consultation services to manufacturers and developers of new rehabilitation products. Complete production facilities and skilled technical support permit us to receive a concept, develop it into a design, fabricate a prototype, and conduct product testing until a technology is ready for manufacturing.
Legal Consultation
Beneficial Designs conducts research and testing for legal cases, and Peter Axelson provides expert testimony in cases involving rehabilitation equipment.
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Who We Are
Peter Axelson
Founder and Director of Research and Development. Peter leads BD and spends much of his time traveling throughout the world to attend meetings and present our work. He's also a pilot and avid mono-skier.
Denise Yamada Axelson
Research Coordinator. Denise coordinates the research at BD and assists with technical writing and grant proposals. She loves to play volleyball.
Seanna Kringen
Research Associate. Seanna has a background in the physiological sciences and assists on the research components of our projects. She enjoys swimming and hiking with her husband and their children.
Kathy Mispagel
Project Coordinator. Kathy organizes UTAP projects and TrailWare development. She enjoys scrapbooking and teaching Sunday School to adults with developmental disabilities.
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History
(text not yet available)
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Every year we send out a newsletter to let our friends and associates know what's going on with the company.
PAX Press
PAX Press is the publishing division of Beneficial Designs, Inc.
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Contact Information
Our business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Friday.
Beneficial Designs, Inc.
2240 Meridian Blvd, Suite C
Minden, NV 89423-8628
775.783.8822 ph
775.783.8823 fax
mail@beneficialdesigns.com
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