Suggested approach for establishing a rehabilitation engineering information service for the state of California

An ever expanding body of rehabilitation engineering technology is developing in this country, but it rarely reaches the people for whom it is intended. The increasing concern of state and federal departments of rehabilitation for this technology lag was the stimulus for a series of problem-solving workshops held in California during 1977. As a result of the workshops, the recommendation emerged that the California Department of Rehabilitation take the lead in the development of a coordinated delivery system that would eventually serve the entire state and be a model for similar systems across the nation

Development of an active orthosis prototype for lower limbs

ARAUJO, Márcio V. ; ALSINA, Pablo J. ; MEDEIROS, Adelardo A. D. ; PEREIRA, Jonathan P.P. ; DOMINGOS, Elber C. ; ARAÚJO, Fábio M.U. ; SILVA, Jáder S. . Development of an Active Orthosis Prototype for Lower Limbs. In: INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, 20., 2009, Gramado, RS. Proceedings… Gramado, RS: [s. n.], 2009This paper presents the development of a prototype of an active orthosis for lower limbs. The proposed orthosis is an orthopedical device with the main objective of providing walking capacity to people with partial or total loss of limbs movements. In order to design the kinematics, dynamics and the mechanical characteristics of the prototype, the biomechanics of the human body was analized. The orthosis was projected to reproduce the movements of human gait. The movements of the joints of the orthosis are controlled by DC motors equipped with mechanical reductions, whose purpose is to reduce rotational speed and increase the torque, thus generating smooth movements. An embedded electronic system for sensory data acquisition and motor control was projected. The gait movements of the orthosis will be controlled by high level commands from a human-machine interface based on processings of electroencephalogram signals, speech recognition or joystic

A-Z of postural care: how to have a good posture when sitting, standing, exercising and relaxing, a guide for teachers and parents and everyone

An A to Z of Postural Care was designed to help those who work with children with postural care needs. It has been written jointly by specialist teachers, therapists and parents of children with physical impairments. The information provided is informed by research that explored the views of teachers and teaching assistants about their experiences of looking after children with physical impairments in mainstream primary schools in Kent. This A to Z booklet aims to give basic information and may act as a starting point for discussions with the therapy team, the child’s family and others in the school. It should link to more general awareness raising within a school of the importance of good posture for learning. The A-Z can be used together with other POSTED training materials to provide the basis for a training programme for parents and teachers. When using/referring to this booklet please acknowledge authorship as appropriate. Details of the other POSTED training resources and publications can be found at CREATE http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/ Hutton, E. and Coxon, K. (2011) Posture for learning: meeting the postural care needs of children with physical disabilities in mainstream primary schools in England - a research into practice exploratory study. Disability and Rehabilitation. 33 (19–20), pp.1012–1924

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Matching ability with jobs using AMAS: final report

AMAS (Activity Matching Ability System) was developed 20 years ago by Loughborough University and was designed to help young disabled / disadvantaged people to enter the labour market. It is a tool that assesses the ergonomics aspects of jobs (the activities) and the abilities of an individual. The two sets of information are then matched and the results talked through with the individual to see if a good match has been obtained. Early versions of AMAS had a strong manufacturing focus that did not easily lend itself to a varied and developing labour market. The feedback from Employment Service staff, including Occupational Psychologists and Disability Employment Advisers, who used the early version of AMAS was that it was helpful but needed updating

An inverse transmission line model of the lower limb arterial system

Includes bibliography. Includes disk in pocket at back of book

Employment of People with Disabilities and Ergonomic Risk Factors at Workplace

The importance of employment to people with disabilities has been increasing in recent years. Participation in working life as active producers has been the main factor in community integration of people with disabilities. It has been proven that if people with disabilities are given the opportunity to develop and use their working capacity, they can be as successful as those who do not have any disabilities, and nowadays the most rational way of helping people with disabilities is to provide them with profession and work. Vocational rehabilitation is a process that helps someone to overcome the barriers when beginning to work, continuing to work, or returning to work after any accident, illness, or disorder. Although the employee is selected according to his/her ability according to the work to be done, it is very important that the place to work matches the physical and psychological characteristics of the employee. Ergonomics is important at working life as it affects productivity. Many different ergonomic risk factors are available to affect the quality of life of a person at workplace. This chapter focuses on the employment of people with disabilities, the risk factors they may face at workplace and assessment of risk factors

Special Recreation: A Manual for Theraputic Riding Programs

Recreational opportunities are limited to individuals with disabilities. Recreation and learning how to utilize leisure time can be more important to individuals with disabilities than to others. Therapeutic riding was studied as a means to meet this perceived need. A manual was developed describing a professionally directed service designed to meet the recreational needs of individuals with disabilities in a therapeutic riding program

Rehabilitation Engineering

Population ageing has major consequences and implications in all areas of our daily life as well as other important aspects, such as economic growth, savings, investment and consumption, labour markets, pensions, property and care from one generation to another. Additionally, health and related care, family composition and life-style, housing and migration are also affected. Given the rapid increase in the aging of the population and the further increase that is expected in the coming years, an important problem that has to be faced is the corresponding increase in chronic illness, disabilities, and loss of functional independence endemic to the elderly (WHO 2008). For this reason, novel methods of rehabilitation and care management are urgently needed. This book covers many rehabilitation support systems and robots developed for upper limbs, lower limbs as well as visually impaired condition. Other than upper limbs, the lower limb research works are also discussed like motorized foot rest for electric powered wheelchair and standing assistance device