INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate the feasibility of assistive technology (AT) devices to improve leprosy patients' occupational performances and satisfaction. METHODS: This is a pretest-posttest design study. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure was used to assess the occupational performance and satisfaction of five leprosy participants with grade 2 disabilities before and af...

PURPOSE To explore power wheelchair users', caregivers' and clinicians' perspectives regarding the potential impact of intelligent power wheelchair use on social participation. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with power wheelchair users (n = 12), caregivers (n = 4) and clinicians (n = 12). An illustrative video was used to facilitate discussion. The transcribed interviews we...

PURPOSE This paper identifies key methodological issues for economic analyses of costs and effectiveness of Assistive Technology (AT) systems based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Following the biopsychosocial model of the ICF, the paper explores the consequences for cost-effectiveness analyses of AT systems when a user centred approach is taken....

The reported work advances the state-of-the-art in assistive technology for the blind by enhancing a low-cost automated tutor designed to teach braille writing skills to visually impaired children. The relatively low cost of this tutor makes it relevant and accessible to blind communities in both the developed and the developing world. We build on our prior work to extend this tutor along three...

Purpose: To provide a comprehensive review of assistive technology (AT) to offset cognitive impairment, including examples, with pros and cons and important considerations for AT selection. Method: Prior research and a literature review identified the critical need for a means to identify key elements known to influence the successful use of AT and other supports by persons with cognitive disab...

OBJECTIVE To describe and explore parents' experiences when their children with severe physical impairments receive gaze-based assistive technology (gaze-based assistive technology (AT)) for use in daily life. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice, with one year in between, with parents of eight children with cerebral palsy that used gaze-based AT in their daily activities. ...

The importance of public policy as a complementary framework for telehealth, telemedicine, and by association telerehabilitation, has been recognized by a number of experts. The purpose of this paper is to review literature on telerehabilitation (TR) policy and research methodology issues in order to report on the current state of the science and make recommendations about future research needs...

INTRODUCTION A significant number of non-institutionalized older adults have difficulty rising from a chair [1]. Although there exist several assistive devices to aid with sit to stand, there is a lack of research that compares and analyzes various modes of assisted sit to stand to characterize their relative effectiveness in terms of biomechanical metrics. This research advances our understand...

The demand for Assistive Technology products is considered through a methodological approach which provides a framework for the analysis of selected aspects of the Assistive Technology (AT) market. Throughout the paper, the AT market is considered from a socio-economic perspective; as a system which is considerably influenced by demographics. This allows the application of systems dynamics in o...

UNLABELLED Load carriage is recognised as a primary occupational factor leading to slip and fall injuries, and therefore assessing balance maintenance during such tasks is critical in assessing injury risk. Ten males completed 55 strides under five carriage conditions: (1) unassisted anterior, (2) unassisted posterior, (3) assisted anterior, (4) assisted posterior and (5) unloaded gait (UG). Ki...