Tech & industry
Ottobock is big news in Germany. When the company celebrated its centenary earlier this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed 350 distinguished guests from politics, industry and academia at its Lower Saxony HQ. On the world stage too, it is a dominant force, with a team of over 7,300 and an array of mobility-boosting products available across the globe. The company exhibited at this year’s European Neuro Convention in Birmingham; and NR Times took the opportunity to explore its newest offerings.
Josh Wintersgill was enjoying a drink by a Tenerife pool when the entrepreneurial spark hit him. He been pondering how to make travelling easier for people with disabilities; a quandary close to his heart. Josh, now 25, has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type three – a progressive muscle wastage condition affecting every muscle in the body. His physical capabilities have reduced with age and, since age nine, he has required a wheelchair on a daily basis. Yet Josh loves travelling and so has experienced the often-undignified, stressful and uncomfortable process of being transferred on and off aircraft. In the Canary Island sunshine he imagined a device that would bring an end to the barriers of air travel for many people with reduced physical mobility.
There can be no true independence in the home without mobility; and that includes mobility between floors and levels. Chairlifts / stairlifts are a common solution for people with mobility problems at home. But what about the many people in wheelchairs who cannot transfer on or off a conventional chairlift? Enter Southampton-based Level Access Lifts, an expert in solving such problems. Nick Dade, sales director at the firm, which supplies lifts throughout the UK, explains: “Everything we supply is designed to aid those people who are unable to transfer from a wheelchair and are designed to move you in your wheelchair between floors or split levels.
The use of Bluetooth, LED lights and phone charging points are no longer the sole domain of the executive car - these are the types of technology being installed into state-of-the-art mobility aids, to help people who rely on them to explore the world. Major breakthroughs in accessibility in recent years have seen power wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs, power assists and seating and positioning products developed to help empower users, giving them freedom to travel and discover new places and experiences. In addition to mobility and wellbeing, lifestyle is now a key feature in the development of new products going to the market, with modern technology helping to redefine the traditional view of wheelchairs.
Robot pets
We have robot pet dogs and cats, and even a monkey and a horse. They respond to touch/voice commands, carry out movements and vocalise. They are primarily used to promote engagement by the patient, encourage pleasant feelings which helps set them in a good mood to participate in therapy, promote positive bonds with staff, and as a source of distraction should the patient start engaging in disruptive behaviours. For selected patients who have favourite smells, we can spray specific odours on the pets, so that all of the sensory modalities are engaged for a pleasant experience.
An Austrian start-up is using mobile devices and the brain’s inability to separate the real from the imagined to help stroke patients. NR Times meets Rewellio CEO and founder Georg Teufl to find out more.
An IBM training manual from 1991 reads: “For people without disabilities, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.” But for a long time, much of the technology widely used by people with disabilities was distinct from the sleek gadgetry of the mainstream. Occupational therapist Keith Norman says: “It used to be that the only technology we would prescribe for people with disabilities would look odd. Other people would wonder ‘why has that person got that device?’
The brain injury technology University College London has been working on for eight years looks decidedly unremarkable. Barely noticeable in the neonatal skyline of equipment is a trolley housing a laptop and what looks like a projector. Yet the data it offers clinicians could accelerate improved care for brain injured babies in their crucial first [...]
Anna Khan woke up in February 2016 adamant that it was still 2015, but the date was correct - she had ‘lost’ almost two months of her life. The Sheffield lass had been walking home from college with her twin sister and best friend Lauren when a car hit her; she was thrown over the [...]
iReadMore provides computer-based reading therapy using written and spoken words and pictures, and aims to improve word-reading speed and accuracy. It was developed by the Aphasia Lab, part of the UCL Institute of Neurology. Stroke patients typically need around 100 hours of speech and language therapy (SaLT), to see a marked improvement. The NHS, however, provides [...]
