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You are here: HomeSharing our knowledgeEventsCRIR–CRLLM Scientific Conference – september, 3, 2026 : From Patients to Innovation Partners: Co-Designing Accessible Technologies with Blind and Low Vision People | Arthur Theil, PhD

CRIR–CRLLM Scientific Conference – september, 3, 2026 : From Patients to Innovation Partners: Co-Designing Accessible Technologies with Blind and Low Vision People | Arthur Theil, PhD

Please note that Québec health institutions have been operating under the name Santé Québec since June 15, 2026.
Some pages published before that date may still contain the former CISSS and CIUSSS designations.

When: 3 September 2026 12:00 to 3 September 2026 13:00

Where: Conference offered in English, in hybrid mode

A presentation by the CRIR – Centre de réadaptation
Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay(CRLLM) of Santé Québec West-Central Montreal Health and Social Services
University Network

CRIR

ObjectiVE OF THE CONFERENCE

Assistive and accessible technologies are often developed around assumptions made by sighted designers, engineers, and clinicians. But what changes when blind and low vision people help define the direction of innovation itself?
This talk will examine co-design and participatory research approaches in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that position blind and low vision collaborators as experts in accessibility rather than subjects of intervention.
Drawing from collaborative projects and design practices, I will discuss how lived experience of disability contributes to more effective technologies, richer research questions, and alternative ways of understanding access. The talk also considers how these approaches can complement clinical and rehabilitative perspectives while challenging the idea that accessibility is simply about restoring or approximating normative vision.

Date and location OF THE CONFERENCE

  • September 3, 2026, 12 :00 – 13:00
  • Location: 7005 Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Montreal  (Québec) H4B 1T3, Hall ESC-1-114
  • Conference in english , in hybrid mode

Link to paticipate here

Speaker

Arthur Theil, PhD

Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction
Research Cluster Lead – Accessibility and Assistive Technology
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Research Centre
Department of Computer Science, Birmingham City University

BIOGRAPHy

Dr Arthur Theil is a Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at Birmingham City University (UK), where he leads the Accessibility and Assistive Technology Research Cluster. Dr Theil leads on subjects around digital accessibility, assistive technologies and user experience design.
His primary research interests include co-designing accessible interactive technologies with users with complex sensory needs through participatory methods.
Dr Theil’s recent research on accessible games for Deafblind gamers received the Best Academic Research Award during the IGDA Game Accessibility Conference (2022) and his research on co-designing wearable haptic technologies with Deafblind people received the People’s Choice Award during the ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2020).

Funding

University Affiliations