That the implantation of the technology has favored and changed multiple areas of your life is an evident reality, that is expressed in very different ways daily. A context in which many areas have benefited, ranging from sports to medicine and health. And directly related to the latter I could not fail to refer to the dependency.
Yes, because the new devices have brought an extra quality of life to these patients, who can now opt for increasingly intelligent wheelchairs and other gadgets that make things easier. We collected some of the most interesting incursions in this area.
Monitoring Systems
One of the last initiatives that have caught our attention is the one carried out by ISECO, a Valencian company that works implementing several technological services in residences and hospitals, with the aim of improving the quality of life of the people.
It does so by the installation of monitoring systems, panic, vital alarms and the like.
Among his recent additions, the acoustic monitoring system (AMS) of the multinational CLB stands out; a series of microphones that are deployed in different rooms and associated with software capable of interpreting the sounds that are coming. In addition, it allows setting different levels of alarm. Its director, Vicente Collado, explains it more correctly: ” If for a resident is habitual to snore at night, for another it could be an indication, that could alert on a possible problem in the future. Resident personnel receive the alarms on mobile devices and may even have a conversation with the president, should he deem it necessary. “
Increasingly intelligent wheelchairs
The intelligent wheelchairs are one of the biggest bets in this field. And is that for years different companies have launched their own prototypes. There are those designed to allow users access to unprepared places (such as steep territories, impossible stairs and so on), to others that have more sophisticated specific sensors.
The latter is the case of the one designed by Case Western Reserve University in 2011. A chair prepared even for blind people, which has sensors, which can detect if it is going in the wrong direction or is about to collide, while also integrating voice commands and an Xbox controller, which facilitates the scrolling.
The one developed by Intel and the physicist Stephen Hawking, two years later, also deserves to be highlighted, because, in addition to its voice function, it can be controlled through the mobile, as well as through eye movements, adapting to the degree of disability.
At the same time, it has a biometric system that analyzes and obtains information about who is sitting in it and also the operation of the chair itself, to avoid future failures.
Its integrated GPS and its function able to trace a route according to obstacles of the way and the saving of data in a database that shares with other people in the same situation are some of its additional virtues.
Beyond is the initiative of Efe Gleb Urvánov, a scientist at the Institute of Engineering and Physics of Moscow who, drawing on the previous model, has achieved a wheelchair that can be managed by thought.
In particular, the chair has a system that reads nervously electrical impulses, the emotional state of the person, the voice and micro-movements of the muscles of his face.
Finally, it is worth mentioning proposals such as Scalevo and Top Chair, which focus on making it possible for the individual to access any place, regardless of whether it has an adapted entry or similar.
Regarding the first, it is a Swiss project of the Federal Institute of Technology that can go down and up stairs without any difficulty and move more quickly and quickly even narrow places.
As for Top Chair, it is something very similar but ‘ made in Spain ‘, specifically in Galicia.
To get back on your feet
Apart from the above, the devices and chairs that allow patients with mobility problems to stand again, deserve their special section.
One of the most recent is UPnRIDE, which was launched in mid-December. This is a wheelchair upright, a kind of robotic exoskeleton, which helps quadriplegic people to stand erect.
To achieve this uses a gyroscope similar to a Segway, which gives them the opportunity to maneuver even on uneven terrain.
It also integrates a small crane, an electric motor and is calibrated to maintain balance and provide access to the subject to the controls at all times.
In any case, this is not the only one, but years before, Get-Up proposed something very similar (although focused on putting them up and not on the move), as illustrated in the previous video.
On the other hand, Tek RMD, although it is not a chair in itself, fulfills the same function: that of allowing them to rise without effort.
To walk again
Marks like Argo Medical Technologies are betting that patients can regain autonomy in a different way. This company, already in 2010 developed an exoskeleton with electric motor and battery that, through a series of sensors, allows users to move upright and without wheels.
I’m talking about Rewalk, though for those who have suffered a spinal cord injury and since then, it has evolved.
Unfortunately, it is still a bit daunting and those who wear it are forced to carry a kind of backpack and a frame attached to their legs.
To drive
Another of the most curious inventions in this context is the system developed by the Laboratory of Robotics and Mechanisms of Virginia Tech University, which gave rise in 2010 to a connected system of gloves and backing capable of emitting vibrations that alert the driver about obstacles present on their way and inform you about how to sort them in real time. Something designed for blind people who, in the long run, could get them to drive.
The implementation of so-called autonomous cars, as well as intelligent parking and driving systems, are also a breakthrough.
However, project director Dennis Hong pointed out that the goal was not to create a vehicle that would move the blind person, but would allow him to make driving decisions like any other.
The cars specifically designed for wheelchair users are also available here. Kenguru is one of them, a vehicle similar to a Smart, which has an integrated access ramp in the trunk area. This is at ground level, which facilitates entry and accommodation within the vehicle. In addition, it is not excessively expensive, but costs around 22 thousand euros.
To improve the mobility of the blind
Directly related to the previous proposals, it is possible to comment the bet of Toyota. The company has a specific project to promote the mobility of the blind, yes, those who walk. This is called the Blaid Project, which tries to go beyond the “functions” offered by walking sticks and guide dogs.
Thus, in April of last year, presented a very special wearable: a kind of collar, which is placed on the shoulders and neck of the user. A device equipped with cameras, loudspeakers and vibrators, which collects information about everything around it: it considers issues such as distance to stairs, type (mechanical or conventional), doors and even reads certain posters. This information is transmitted to the person through a few loudspeakers.
It is also capable of interacting with it, thanks to its voice recognition system.
A work that will soon incorporate cartographic and other technologies of facial recognition and identification of objects.
Brain stimulation
The brain stimulation in patients suffering from paralysis technique is also a great help.
In fact – and according to a study by Washington researchers – a therapy of this type focused could help release the arms and restore the use of limbs in patients who have been paralyzed as a result of a stroke .
At this point, however, reference should also be made to the dangers and risks arising from misuse. To give you an idea, as early as 2015, a group of French researchers showed that stimulating certain areas of the hippocampus gave them the possibility of doing something as sinister as altering the memories of laboratory mice.
A line of research followed shortly after by Dr. Julia Shaw, who did not hesitate to affirm that even it is possible to completely erase past experiences through this technique.
Other devices
Apart from the commentaries, I could not fail to mention other specific devices like smart watches able to give the time in Braille as Dot. A clock that connects to the mobile by Bluetooth and has a system of magnets that rise and hide. Not only to provide temporary information, but also the mobile apps.
Tobii PCEye, meanwhile, is a system that converts the movement of the person’s eyes into those of a cursor. So that it offers you the option to navigate without moving physically, beyond what your eyes say.
LifewareIntegra is another software that follows the same line. But that allows them to access the digital tools through head movements and facial expressions.
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