Health apps

Algorithm measures quality of gait through smart watches

The Watch Walk algorithm could help reduce falls and fall-related injuries in elderly people, study shows. Participants aged 46 to 77 were instructed to wear a device on their dominant wrists for seven days. Photo by SHVETS … READ MORE

Canada’s health-care system has a data problem, experts say. And it puts patients at risk

‘It’s not good to be flying blind,’ says one doctor pushing for change. Nurse Dave Riar checks on a patient in the intensive care unit at the Royal Columbia Hospital in New Westminster, B.C., on Thursday, March 31, … READ MORE

A smart jumpsuit tracks infants’ motor development

A smart jumpsuit measures the spontaneous and voluntary movement of infants. Details on their mobility help in assessing abnormal neurological development. Image: Sampsa Vanhatalo, University of Helsinki Miia Soininen, University of … READ MORE

Rehab device enables stroke survivors with arm disabilities to do more training

A rehabilitation device can increase the amount of arm exercises stroke patients do without professional supervision, according to a new study. Patient playing the Balloons Buddies video game which aims to boost rehabilitation of … READ MORE

Warehousing disabled people in long-term care homes needs to stop

Instead, nationalize home care. The failures in both private and publicly funded long-term care (LTC) homes in Canada have led to 15,000 COVID-19 deaths. Calls to reform LTC through nationalization have become widespread, garnering … READ MORE

How technology can help people with disabilities become more independent

The state is really doing a wonderful thing, doing that… You don’t understand how it really actually feels to feel brand new. This here is brand new. This is lovely. – David Slack, who is living in his own house with the … READ MORE

Looping the Olympic Peninsula

I have visited tropical rainforests, including the Amazon, but a temperate rainforest? I couldn’t picture it, much less a temperate rainforest within three hours of a major American city. Yet Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is home … READ MORE

Ian Mackay blows away power wheelchair 24-hour distance record

On June 22, accessibility advocate Ian Mackay blew his way to a new world record for distance wheeled in 24 hours by mouth-controlled power wheelchair. Photos courtesy of Celina Smith. New Mobility Ian Ruder, New Mobility June 23, … READ MORE

Experts plead for more pediatric telehealth

A specialty group is asking federal and state governments to preserve and expand access to telehealth services for children with developmental and behavioral problems. Monterey County pediatricians adjust to shelter in place. Monterey … READ MORE

UArizona researchers develop ultra-thin ‘computer on the bone’

Engineers and physicians teamed up to develop a wireless device to monitor and protect bone health. Osseosurface electronic devices, which attach directly to the bone, could one day help physicians monitor bone health. It’s show … READ MORE

How to design personalized and meaningful technology for older adults

Marjolein den Haan-Wintermans defends her PhD on ideas to help seniors relax and make sense of their day. More and more research suggests framing ageing positively rather than focusing on problems. In her PhD research on the … READ MORE

The doctor won’t see you now: Why access to care is in critical condition

In addition to patient care, many doctors also have heavy administrative burdens, including insurance company requests and government forms that advocate for their patients’ needs, as well as all the challenges of running an office. … READ MORE

Erin helps her sister with Cerebral palsy

When someone communicates using a computerized voice, it can feel like, well, not their own. This family got the chance to create a more authentic voice for their daughter with cerebral palsy, and it’s pretty incredible. Abilities … READ MORE

Scribes can help transform health care by creating better clinical data

“Insurers, drug companies and large HMOs are mounting an extensive effort to use medical data to decide which treatments are best, which doctors are best and which plans keep people the healthiest.” That quote, seemingly … READ MORE

Skin in the game: Transformative approach uses the human body to recharge smartwatches

UMass Amherst team designs prototype charging system for wearable devices. ShaZam charging via steering wheel. N. Mohammed et al. Nick Bild, Cut the Cord Patty Shillington, University of Massachusetts Amherst July 1, 2021 As smart … READ MORE

GPS app BlindSquare helps visually impaired navigate trails of Calgary’s Fish Creek Park

‘A person with vision loss wouldn’t even attempt to go on a hike by themselves.’ Ali Khalil, who is visually impaired, is the technology program lead with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. He has been … READ MORE

Student designs smart mobility aid for people with dementia

According to Alzheimer’s Research UK, one million people in the UK will have dementia by 2025 and this will increase to two million by 2050. This increase is a real concern, especially as the care system is already under strain. … READ MORE

Getting dressed with help from robots

Basic safety needs in the paleolithic era have largely evolved with the onset of the industrial and cognitive revolutions. We interact a little less with raw materials, and interface a little more with machines. MIT CSAIL Rachel … READ MORE

5-minute breathing workout lowers blood pressure as much as exercise, drugs

Working out just five minutes daily via a practice described as “strength training for your breathing muscles” lowers blood pressure and improves some measures of vascular health as well as, or even more than, aerobic exercise or … READ MORE

Why getting more people with disabilities developing technology is good for everyone

Accessible technology is better for everyone, and accessible technology benefits when the people who rely on it most help build it. Parapan Athlete Tiana Knight demonstrates Blindsquare, an iPhone app that helps blind people by … READ MORE

Paralympics haven’t decreased barriers to physical activity for most people with disabilities

Tokyo 2020: how the Paralympics have evolved from rehabilitation to spectacle. Shaped by evolving societal attitudes towards physical and mental impairment, the Paralympics have gone from championing rehabilitation to being the second … READ MORE

Disability advocates call for easier access to ‘life-changing’ technology

Assistive devices can improve quality of life, but their high cost keeps them out of reach for many. Tammy Martin’s eSight helps her magnify images, as well as change their colour, contrast and focus. Tammy Martin Feleshia … READ MORE

Student develops low-cost device to help people with speech disorders

Individuals with speech disorders often rely on expensive devices to help them communicate with others, but an Illinois Institute of Technology student has developed a cheaper, yet equally effective, alternative. The device will be … READ MORE

Online training program helps patients with knee OA cope with pain

Patients with knee osteoarthritis who completed an online pain coping skills training program reported that the intervention was easy to follow and helped them better control their pain, according to findings published in Arthritis … READ MORE

Pediatric telemedicine services can work well under the right conditions

Interviews with pediatricians show that providing remote medical consultations is highly stressful and challenging, but this can be managed with extra skills and training. Telemedicine for children with disabilities in remote … READ MORE

A national electronic health record for primary care

The Canada Health Act states that health care should be portable — but health records are not. Despite billion-dollar efforts to promote information transfers between jurisdictions,[1] sharing health information today often requires … READ MORE

Printed electronics open way for electrified tattoos and personalized biosensors

The first demonstration of a fully print-in-place electronics technique is gentle enough to work on surfaces as delicate as human skin and paper. Two electronically active leads directly printed along the underside of Duke graduate … READ MORE

Wearable motion detectors identify subtle motor deficits in children

Could lead to early intervention, help prevent disability. Noah Drozda shows off a pair of motion detectors that he wore around the clock for a study on motor deficits in children. Researchers at Washington University School of … READ MORE

An engineer explains how to forge a career designing for disabilities

Blessin Varkey develops tech to help Indian students with cognitive disabilities. Screen Time: A Tamana student uses tablet-based software to improve a variety of skills. Blessin Varkey IEEE Spectrum By Dinsa Sachan, IEEE Spectrum 25 … READ MORE

Bluetooth – a technology with bite

Those familiar with this young column know that “the machine” represents the large or small barriers and roadblocks those of us with mobility disabilities have to overcome. Todd Stabelfeldt By Todd Stabelfeldt, New Mobility July … READ MORE

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