Rehabilitation medicine
Technical solutions for a range of assistive devices for individuals with disabilities
Under The Weather is a single-person pop-up shelter to sit inside that my big brother Rick came up with a while back. (He was sick of getting soaked at his kids’ soccer games and was inspired by a portable toilet he saw by the
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“Every year that we can have baseball for him is one more happier year for him,” says father. Braeden Palmer, 3, is a Toronto Blue Jays superfan. Without the Challenger baseball program for kids with disabilities in St.
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Many years ago I worked with a doctor who would disappear for a few moments at important decision points in clinical care. Sometimes this was during ward rounds and sometimes on call. He was an excellent doctor—the momentary
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A proper running technique focusing on every step can help an athlete increase efficiency while preventing injury. Specifically, how the foot strikes the ground can affect performance, comfort, and even pain following an exercise
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The device is a manual standing wheelchair providing mobility in either a seated or standing position. The Center for Bionic Medicine (CBM) has developed an innovative manual standing wheelchair. It is one of the first manual
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The demographic crystal ball shows elderly care is a crisis set to deepen, fast. No wonder UK politicians are grasping for solutions. The United Kingdom is on the verge of a social care crisis as funding for the care of the elderly is
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The AlterG is an anti-gravity treadmill being used for physiotherapy at the University of Alberta. Mariya Oleinikova (left) uses the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill under the watchful eye of physical therapy professor Kim Dao. Richard
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System easier for patients and cheaper for clinics. Physiotherapy patients can get more accurate feedback on rehab exercises and clinics can save money thanks to a new system developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo. A
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The national rail provider fought an order to change its policy but has decided to comply. Toronto couple Martin Anderson and Marie Murphy both use mobility scooters. Via Rail has changed its policy on wheelchairs and other mobility
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Apple “Designed for Everyone” campaign marks Global Accessibility Awareness Day. According to the World Health Organization, more than a billion people in the world are living with some sort of disability. That’s one in seven of
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Robert Bush has multiple sclerosis (MS), which sapped his ability to walk five years ago. Joseph McGlynn suffered a stroke that seriously impaired his left side, also five years ago. Neural stimulation helps Joseph McGlynn, left, who
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This fall it will be possible to answer a call just by making a simple gesture on your jacket. You will be able to receive GPS directions, skip a song or turn up the music volume without having your mobile phone in your palm. The
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Assistive products and technologies – such as wheelchairs, upper-limb prostheses, and hearing and speech devices – hold promise for partially or fully mitigating the effects of impairments and enabling people with disabilities to
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Difficulty walking due to muscle weakness, muscle spasms, and balance issues is common among people who have multiple sclerosis (MS). You can move naturally with the WalkOn during the day. When you crouch down or walk up a set of
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More and more Canadians are horsing around with their healthcare. Horse therapy, also known as equestrian or equine-assisted therapy, is a versatile treatment program that has patients galloping to ranches and stables to recover from
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Komodo OpenLab, a company based in Toronto, Canada, released a new device that lets severely paralyzed people operate Android and iOS tablets and smartphones, as well as other devices, using standard accessibility tools such as sip
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For rehabilitation professionals, ISS is considered the must-attend event of the year. The 33rd annual International Seating Symposium, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology’s
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A team of researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy has managed to generate cartilage tissue by printing stem cells using a 3D bio-printer. The fact that the stem cells survived being printed in this manner is a success in itself. In
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Friends initially told they couldn’t sit side by side in wheelchair section, as they had for past decade. Music fans Lochlan Magennis, who uses a wheelchair, and Ken Potma, shown outside Arts Commons in Calgary. The two friends
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Printable hydrogel matches the strength and elasticity of human cartilage. A cartilage-mimicking material created by researchers at Duke University may one day allow surgeons to 3D print replacement knee parts that are custom-shaped
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The Glassouse basically turns your head into a mouse or trackpad. If you can’t use your arms, this means you can finally navigate a computer screen, tablet or cell phone easily, on your own. Glassouse tracks head movements to
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A team of students from Gonzaga University has used 3D printing to develop an Ankle Foot Orthosis, AFO which can be produced in just two days. Normal production time for AFOs, which are used to treat foot and ankle disorders in
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What were you doing when you were seven years old? Most seven-year-olds are playful and energetic, and enjoy running freely. But cerebral palsy changes a normal perspective into something extraordinary. When I was seven, a brand new
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The United Nations called on Canada today to address the “persisting gaps in the exercise and enjoyment of rights by persons with disabilities, such as education, work and employment and an adequate standard of living, including
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A new, first-of-its-kind app is now available to support clinicians with decisions on best practice rehabilitation strategies for patients with arm impairment due to stroke. Easily find the right therapy for your patients’ goals
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Ecuador’s paraplegic president-elect Lenin Moreno will become a rare head of state to use a wheelchair when he takes office next month, stirring hope for disabled people worldwide. Ecuadorean presidential candidate Lenin Moreno
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A new waterproof, motorized wheelchair that runs entirely on compressed air was unveiled today at Morgan’s Wonderland, a 25-acre theme park in San Antonio, Texas. The park was built specifically for individuals with disabilities,
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For roughly the last dozen years of Phil Stevens’ life, pain has been a daily companion. Stevens, a third-generation dairy farmer on a 1,000-acre spread in Barre, Massachusetts, fell off the metal roof he was building in April 2003.
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Underwater vehicles, robot hands, hybrid rocket motors… it all sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but these are all devices crafted by students at the Schulich School of Engineering School at the University of Calgary.
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Skill transfer between body parts reflects plasticity of brain’s organization, researchers say. Training at tasks with your hands stimulates the areas of the motor cortex that controls your feet. Pexels Photo Rachel Butch, Johns
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