A week in the life of Mary: the impact of microtechnology on a severely handicapped person.
Microtechnology has an important role to play in maximizing the independence of severely handicapped people, especially those with few reliable voluntary movements. Such movements must be harnessed efficiently to provide control over all aspects of life including communication, mobility and the immediate environment. To highlight the role of microtechnology in the day to day life of a severely handicapped person living at home, a case study is presented. The systems Mary uses for communication and environmental control are described and their limitations discussed. Adaptive man-machine interfaces are proposed and foreseeable developments in the fields of speech technology and robotics are considered. Successful introduction of high technology devices requires a full appreciation of medical and social factors as well as those relating to the technology. This is achieved through close partnership between the clinical engineer and the rehabilitation consultant to the benefit of the severely handicapped person.
Dymond
E A
EA
Medical Physics Department, St George's Hospital, Lincoln, UK.
Potter
R
R
Griffiths
P A
PA
McClemont
E J
EJ
D003143:Communication Devices for People with Disabilities; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008838:Microcomputers; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012371:Robotics; D012656:Self-Help Devices; D014584:User-Computer Interface