Posts from ‘Thursday's Technology Spotlight’
Your Weekly Tech Report
Organizations like Project Mobility: Cycles for Life, Inc. have been helping people with disabilities such as spinal cord injuries (SCI) gain mobility and independence with adaptive bicycles and social riding programs. These bikes have given adults and children with unique physical limitations the ability to return to or begin biking. There are a wide assortment of companies with a variety of specialized options to choose from…
This week’s technology report is on wheelchair seating products. For those who spend large periods of time in a wheelchair, finding the right seating enhancements that provide both comfort and support is of high importance…
This week’s interesting technological development is an electronic exoskeleton – something that seems better fitted to some action-packed futuristic movie.
ReWalk is the creation of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies in Israel, who was paralyzed in 1997. Unable to use his creation because of limited mobility in his arms, Goffer has used this machine to give others the ability to walk on their own again – or for the first time…
This week’s technology report isn’t on something you can use – yet. ScienceDaily reports that a team at the University of Reading has created a robot that is controlled by an actual biological brain. This has a great deal of potential applications as it continues to develop and become more complex…
Don’t let your disability keep you inside this summer! This week’s tech report is on products that will make the beach comfortably accessible. Beach wheelchairs are a great way to get out and about and enjoy the sunshine and they make accessing any sandy waterfront affordable and fun…
This week’s technology spotlight is on an interesting assistive device called a cerebral interface or brain-computer interface (BCI)…
Pain management technology for chronic back pain:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a “brain pacemaker”, a device that sends electrical impulses to areas of the brain, primarily the sensory thalamus, in order to relieve chronic pain. This procedure is used for pain that medication has had no effect on, as it’s not exactly simple and there can be some unpleasant side effects.
Fine electrode wires are inserted into specific parts of the brain, and then they are used to deliver continuous pulses of electricity to the brain regions that process pain signals. By changing brain activity though the depression of excitatory transmissions in the thalamus, pain is effectively “turned off”.
The DBS is made up of the implanted pulse generator (IPG), the lead, which is a wire insulated in polyurethane that the electrical impulses run through, and the extension, which connects the lead to the IPG. The DBS is surgically inserted into the body – the electrode is implanted into a small hole (about 14 mm) that is drilled into the skull under local anesthesia, and then under general anesthesia, the IPG and lead are implanted.
Side effects vary depending on the patient, but some that have been documented are “apathy, hallucinations, compulsive gambling, hypersexuality, cognitive dysfunction and depression”. Wikipedia notes that these effects may be temporary, if experienced at all, and are most likely reversible with either change in placement of the stimulator or its removal.
While there are a handful of procedures that you can turn to if medication fails to be effective, this particular one has a high success rate, some 80 percent over time, and is also reversible should it not work.
Wheeling in style with Trekinetic.
Trekinetic is a light, ultra-stylish, all terrain wheelchair developed by Mike Spindle in order to provide fashion conscious wheelchair users with an alternative to the basic, boxy style currently available.
After eight years of development and 14 separate prototypes, Spindle’s Trekinetic is ready for sale. It is built around a carbon fiber seat, has front wheel drive with a singular rear castor for added stability, uses a dynamic breaking system and includes protection from the weather in the form of storeable umbrella.
The Trekinetic is not only comfortable and attractive, it is quick and easy to fold up and store. If you want to check it out, visit Mike Spindle’s Website.
All images are from the Trekinetic Website.
Environmental Control
Among the many complications of paralysis, one of the most frustrating is having reduced control over your environment. Everyday activities such as dialing a telephone or turning on a light suddenly become extremely difficult or even impossible.
An environmental control unit, otherwise known as an ECU, can help people with spinal cord injury regain control over their environment. ECUs maximize function and increase independence in the home, at work, at school, and in everyday life in general.
Simply put, an ECU is a remote control that operates a variety of appliances and switches. An ECU may allow you to open doors, adjust the lights, answer or dial the telephone, or turn on the television.
There is an ECU designed for just about any level of paralysis. ECUs can be operated by hand, by voice, by computer, by sip, by puffs of air, or even by eye blink.
