Effect of technique and transfer board use on the performance of wheelchair transfers

Transferring to and from the wheelchair seat is a necessary skill for many wheelchair users who wish to be independent of their everyday life. The performance of wheelchair transfers has been associated with the risk of falling and developing upper limb injuries. Both present a risk to the independence of the individual. Previous studies on wheelchair transfers have focused mainly on the analysis of sitting transfers performed by individuals with spinal cord injury, which only represent a small portion of the wider wheelchair users' population. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different transferring techniques (sitting, standing) and transfer board use on the ground reaction forces under the hands during transfer performance and transfer quality measured using the transfer assessment instrument (TAI). Sitting transfers displayed generally higher peak and mean reaction forces underneath both leading and trailing hands compared with the other techniques, but the difference was only significant between sitting and standing transfers. Standing transfers had significantly lower TAI scores compared with sitting transfer, potentially indicating a decreased level of safety associated with their performance. Transfer boards were only partially effective in reducing the weight born by the upper limbs and they caused only a minor reduction in the overall TAI score in comparison to sitting transfers

Assistive Technology (AT), for What?

Amartya Sen’s seminal Tanner lecture: Equality of What? began a contestation on social justice and human wellbeing that saw a new human development paradigm emerge—the capability approach (CA)—which has been influential ever since. Following interviews with leading global assistive technology (AT) stakeholders, and users, this paper takes inspiration from Sen’s core question and posits, AT for what? arguing that AT should be understood as a mechanism to achieve the things that AT users’ value. Significantly, our research found no commonly agreed operational global framework for (disability) justice within which leading AT stakeholders were operating. Instead, actors were loosely aligned through funding priorities and the CRPD. We suggest that this raises the possibility for (welcome and needed) incoming actors to diverge from efficiently designed collective action, due to perverse incentives enabled by unanchored interventions. The Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT) helps, greatly! However, we find there are still vital gaps in coordination; as technology advances, and AT proliferates, no longer can the device-plus-service approach suffice. Rather, those of us interested in human flourishing might explore locating AT access within an operational global framework for disability justice, which recognizes AT as a mechanism to achieve broader aims, linked to people’s capabilities to choose what they can do and be

Mapping Assistive Technology Start-ups

Assistive technology (AT) is the application of organised knowledge and skills related to assistive products, systems and services designed to maintain or improve an individ-ual’s functioning and independence, thereby promoting their well-being [1]. We can enable life-changing differences in millions of lives worldwide using and enabling ac-cess to assistive technology. However, with all the incredible innovation, development and distribution of assistive products, there is still a significant gap between design and awareness to access and use of assistive products [2]. This was corroborated through our project to understand the met and unmet needs of AT through a country-capacity assessment [3]. As a part of this project, we carried out 5 focus group discussions with AT Users, policy stakeholders, AT developers, providers and those that work in AT distribution and support (n=31). We explored their experiences of providing and ac-cessing AT, including procurement strategies, adoption of new technologies and provi-sion pathways. Overall, we found that there is still a substantial knowledge gap in as-sistive products, how to access products and funding for needed products. These dis-cussions also enlightened us that word-of-mouth and peer networks are the main ave-nues through which knowledge of assistive products is shared. Difficulties in keeping up with the expanding innovative landscape was raised as a key concern

Unpacking 'What Works': A Commentary of the Key Learnings for ICT from the AT2030 Program

The AT2030 programme was launched in 2018 to test ‘what works’ in getting assistive technology (AT) to people globally, specifically in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where there is often a systematic lack of provision. After four years, this paper reviews the project outcomes, focussing on published material. It provides the backdrop to the AT2030 program, contextualises current developments in global AT global and funding, and unpacks the key learnings of what works to get AT to the people that need it around the world, with a focus on ICT. The paper does this by applying Global Disability Innovation Hub’s mission-led and transformative approach, concluding with contemporary actions to improve access to AT to illustrate the value of embracing complexity for AT ecosystem stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, AT users and policymakers

Disrupting the world of disability: the next generation of assistive technologies and rehabilitation practices

Designing, developing and deploying assistive technologies at a scale and cost which makes them accessible to people is challenging. Traditional models of manufacturing would appear to be insufficient at helping the world's 1 billion disabled people in accessing the technologies they require. In addition, many who receive assistive technologies simply abandon them as they do not meet their needs. In this study the authors explore the changing world of design for disability. A landscape which includes the rise of the maker movement, the role of ubiquitous sensing and the changing role of the 'user' to one of designer and maker. The authors argue they are on the cusp of a revolution in healthcare provision, where the population will soon have the ability to manage their own care with systems in place for diagnosis, monitoring, individualised prescription and action/reaction. This will change the role of the clinician from that of diagnostician, gatekeeper and resource manager/deliverer to that of consultant informatics manager and overseer; perhaps only intervening to promote healthy behaviour, prevent crisis and react at flash moments

Maternal Nicotine Exposure Leads to Impaired Disulfide Bond Formation and Augmented Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in the Rat Placenta

Maternal nicotine exposure has been associated with many adverse fetal and placental outcomes. Although underlying mechanisms remain elusive, recent studies have identified that augmented endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is linked to placental insufficiency. Moreover, ER function depends on proper disulfide bond formation-a partially oxygen-dependent process mediated by protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and ER oxidoreductases. Given that nicotine compromised placental development in the rat, and placental insufficiency has been associated with poor disulfide bond formation and ER stress, we hypothesized that maternal nicotine exposure leads to both placental ER stress and impaired disulfide bond formation. To test this hypothesis, female Wistar rats received daily subcutaneous injections of either saline (vehicle) or nicotine bitartrate (1 mg/kg) for 14 days prior to mating and during pregnancy. Placentas were harvested on embryonic day 15 for analysis. Protein and mRNA expression of markers involved in ER stress (e.g., phosphorylated eIF2α, Grp78, Atf4, and CHOP), disulfide bond formation (e.g., PDI, QSOX1, VKORC1), hypoxia (Hif1α), and amino acid deprivation (GCN2) were quantified via Western blot and/or Real-time PCR. Maternal nicotine exposure led to increased expression of Grp78, phosphorylated eIF2α, Atf4, and CHOP (

Analysis of Product Architectures of Pin Array Technologies for Tactile Displays

Refreshable tactile displays based on pin array technologies have a significant impact on the education of children with visual impairments, but they are prohibitively expensive. To better understand their design and the reason for the high cost, we created a database and analyzed the product architectures of 67 unique pin array technologies from literature and patents. We qualitatively coded their functional elements and analyzed the physical parts that execute the functions. Our findings highlight that pin array surfaces aim to achieve three key functions, i.e., raise and lower pins, lock pins, and create a large array. We also contribute a concise morphological chart that organises the various mechanisms for these three functions. Based on this, we discuss the reasons for the high cost and complexity of these surface haptic technologies and infer why larger displays and more affordable devices are not available. Our findings can be used to design new mechanisms for more affordable and scalable pin array display systems

Enhanced conditioned eyeblink response acquisition and proactive interference in anxiety vulnerable individuals

In classical conditioning, proactive interference may arise from experience with the conditioned stimulus (CS), the unconditional stimulus (US), or both, prior to their paired presentations. Interest in the application of proactive interference has extended to clinical populations as either a risk factor for disorders or as a secondary sign. Although the current literature is dense with comparisons of stimulus pre-exposure effects in animals, such comparisons are lacking in human subjects. As such, interpretation of proactive interference over studies as well as its generalization and utility in clinical research is limited. The present study was designed to assess eyeblink response acquisition after equal numbers of CS, US, and explicitly unpaired CS and US pre-exposures, as well as to evaluate how anxiety vulnerability might modulate proactive interference. In the current study, anxiety vulnerability was assessed using the State/Trait Anxiety Inventories as well as the adult and retrospective measures of behavioral inhibition (AMBI and RMBI, respectively). Participants were exposed to 1 of 4 possible pre-exposure contingencies: 30 CS, 30 US, 30 CS, and 30 US explicitly unpaired pre-exposures, or Context pre-exposure, immediately prior to standard delay training. Robust proactive interference was evident in all pre-exposure groups relative to Context pre-exposure, independent of anxiety classification, with CR acquisition attenuated at similar rates. In addition, trait anxious individuals were found to have enhanced overall acquisition as well as greater proactive interference relative to non-vulnerable individuals. The findings suggest that anxiety vulnerable individuals learn implicit associations faster, an effect which persists after the introduction of new stimulus contingencies. This effect is not due to enhanced sensitivity to the US. Such differences would have implications for the development of anxiety psychopathology within a learning framework