Neuroscience
The New York Times provides an interesting feature piece in its Circuits section tomorrow about the use of the Segway Human Transporter by individuals with various disabilities. It should also be noted that the creator of the Segway has developed a less-well-known wheelchair that can raise a person closer to eye level than a standard wheelchair and that can climb stairs.
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Neuroscience
MS Individuals Using Segways
The New York Times provides an interesting feature piece in its Circuits section tomorrow about the use of the Segway Human Transporter by individuals with various disabilities. It should also be noted that the creator of the Segway has developed a less-well-known wheelchair that can raise a person closer to eye level than a standard wheelchair and that can climb stairs.
Oft-Scorned Segway Finds Friends Among the Disabled[ ... Read the full article ... ]
By RACHEL METZ
Published: October 14, 2004
WHIRRING quietly down the sidewalk on East 42nd Street and into a Starbucks one recent afternoon, Chandler Hovey drew looks and comments from passers-by.
What was most eye-catching was his means of transport: the Segway Human Transporter, a two-wheeled, gyroscopically balanced electric scooter. What was less evident, except to those close enough to spot the blue handicapped symbol on his scooter, was that he is disabled.
Mr. Hovey, 63, a money manager, has multiple sclerosis. For almost 18 months, his Segway has regularly transported him the roughly 30 blocks from his home to his office. When he is not using the Segway to dart around Manhattan, Mr. Hovey uses a cane, which he hangs on the scooter's handlebars, to help him maneuver around daily obstacles. But on the Segway, he appears as able-bodied as those he is passing by.
"Instead of being at fire hydrant height, you're at human being height," he said of many users. Several hundred people nationwide are using Segways to cope with disabilities like scoliosis and arthritis and even missing limbs, according to a group called Disability Rights Advocates for Technology, or Draft, which is promoting such use. Like Mr. Hovey, many have disabilities serious enough to require assistance with walking, but not a wheelchair.
The Segway, which has been generally available since early last year, is not approved (or marketed) for use as a medical device. And it has drawn opposition and even legislation in some cities over concern that its use on sidewalks endangers pedestrians. But that has not deterred disabled riders willing to pay $3,000 or more - a cost not usually covered by medical insurance.
Leonard Timm, an above-the-knees double amputee and a co-founder of Draft, said his group estimated the ranks of disabled Segway users nationwide at 400 to 600. Often, he said, they are using the Segway along with another device, like a cane, wheelchair or a sit-down power scooter.
Mr. Timm modified his Segway to incorporate a wooden seat he built that enables him to sit while riding. He is working on a new aluminum seat.
Disabled Segway riders cite health benefits like improved digestion and circulation. While their overall energy might not improve, some say they can now concentrate their efforts on things other than struggling to walk.
- Caring For Learning-disabled Clients With Challenging Behaviour
Care staff working with learning-disabled clients who also exhibit challenging behaviours – for example, throwing objects, screaming and hoarding things – could be particularly prone to making the ‘fundamental attribution error’, that is believing...
- Robot Suit Hal (hybrid Assistive Limb) Back In The News
...
- Deep Brain Stimulation
A curious case report discussed in today's New York Times: Man Regains Speech After Brain Stimulation By BENEDICT CAREY Published: August 1, 2007 A 38-year-old man who spent more than five years in a mute, barely conscious state as a result of a...
- Help Disabled And Home Bound Elderly As A Meals On Wheels Intern!
Meals On Wheels of Central Maryland is seeking interns for the Spring 2013 semester. Serving the Baltimore metropolitan region, Meals On Wheels provides home delivery of meals, case management, and isolation reduction services for 1,350 disabled and home...
- Summer Session Ii "adapted Physical Activity" Course For Future Coaches, Teachers, Physical Therapists, And Medical Professionals!
KNES498L Adapted physical activity, recreation and sports for people with disabilities (3 credits). ONLINE Study of adapted physical activity and its impact on the health and wellness of individuals with disabilities. Design and instruction of physical...