When life puts a challenge in front of you, it creates a need for solution to overcome it. And Yes! Technology always comes out to be the super hero for the rescue in such situations. For people with disabilities especially cerebral palsy where the extent of penetration of the effects is varied finding right solutions becomes very difficult. Finding the right tool, every time to meet the needs is really a tough task. A variety of assistive devices are available in the market right from mobility devices likes wheelchairs & crawlers , bathing equipment’s, stool tables which all aim at making life easier . Technology is ever growing.
High tech innovations are coming up that will surely impact future generations living with Cerebral Palsy and other related conditions. To describe a few researchers at University of Oklahoma have built a Self-Initiated Prone Progression Crawler (SIPPC) to mitigate neurological damage caused by cerebral palsy at an early age. Researchers constructed a motorized scooter for infants with an EEG cap which monitors brain activity during exercises in the physio-occupational therapy sessions, and mounted cameras capture the movements 20 times /second to create a 3D graph of the crawling child. Ideally infants of 2 to 8 months can use it.
Communication is the basic requirement for the processes of learning and interaction. Tobii Technology has opened up doors of communication for nonverbal children or adults. Eye tracking technology uses the iris of the user to give commands to a computer that in turn speaks for the user. This technology offers a voice to people that earlier had little way to express his or her thoughts. Eye tracking can also be used to create actions, such as the one can operate a wheelchair without the use of limbs.
Deprivation of oxygen at birth is one of the major reasons for Cerebral palsy. The cool Cap is not an ordinary cap. It is designed to cool the brains of babies born with oxygen deprivation during birth may prevent brain damage. It offers a moderate overall reduction in brain damage.
The possibilities which technology & research have opened are truly endless with many more enabling and empowering devices to come up in future.
Courtesy- hurriyet Daily news
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