The aim of this study was to document professional factors to be considered in implementing a provincial policy of recycling assistive technology in Quebec. A qualitative study was conducted with 22 experts from various sectors: health professionals (including occupational therapists), industry and community. They were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data collection also invo...

OBJECTIVE To analyze and evaluate the efficacy of evacuation plans described by individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN Descriptive study from a convenience sample. SETTING Outpatient population center in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. METHODS Twenty-one individuals with SCI who previously indicated that they had a plan of evacuation from either their homes, places of work, or towns/citie...

PURPOSE To identify the types and mix of technology (hardware and software) provided to post-secondary students with dyslexia under the UK's Disabled Student Allowance (DSA), and to determine the students' satisfaction with, and use of, the equipment provided and to examine their experiences with training. METHOD A telephone survey of 455 students with dyslexia who had received technology und...

This author’s perspective is possibly unique among the other contributors to this volume because he witnessed the early evolution of rehabilitation engineering in Canada and the United States, first working as a young clinical rehabilitation engineer and later as an academic researcher in both countries. This contribution focuses largely on the Canadian contribution, with emphasis on the politi...

This paper presents an interface that uses two different sensing techniques and combines both results through a fusion process to obtain the minimum-variance estimator of the orientation of the user's head. Sensing techniques of the interface are based on an inertial sensor and artificial vision. The orientation of the user's head is used to steer the navigation of a robotic wheelchair. Also, a...

The relationship between assistive technology for cognition (ATC) and cognitive function was examined using a systematic review. A literature search identified 89 publications reporting 91 studies of an ATC intervention in a clinical population. The WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used to categorize the cognitive domains being assisted and the ta...

Five persons with severe amnesia were trained to use a device containing items of information relevant to daily activities. The training consisted of a procedure in which requests for information were paired with a tone, and the subject was required to access the device and respond with the answer to the request. The tone was gradually faded, with the goal of having the subject respond to a que...

Background. Falls and fear of falling present a major risk to older people as both can affect their quality of life and independence. Mobile assistive technologies (AT) fall detection devices may maximise the potential for older people to live independently for as long as possible within their own homes by facilitating early detection of falls. Aims. To explore the experiences and perceptions o...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this trial, the Leiden 85-Plus Occupational Therapy Intervention Study (LOTIS), was to assess whether unsolicited occupational therapy, as compared to no therapy, can decelerate the increase in disability in high-risk elderly people. DESIGN This was a randomised controlled trial with 2-y follow-up. SETTING The study took place in the municipality of Leiden in the ...