The TouchUp was a project designed for a woman who suffered from MS. It takes a Hillrom hospital bed, and allows the user to control the bed with an iPad instead of the physical buttons.
The original recipient found it difficult to press the buttons on the remote control as it required a certain strength in the hand. The iPad was chosen as it allowed the user to simply touch the screen.
This project will be beyond a lot of makers, at it requires a custom app made for the iPad (although Andruino may be a solution to make an Android version).
The Makezine page details the build, and the necessary steps to connect the Arduino's relays to the bed.