Featuring the New Sand-Proof, Ocean Wheelchair in Deerfield Beach, Florida

A Flordian couple has made it their goal to allow wheelchair users in their community access to a place where their wheels often sink: the beach. With the new "Ocean Wheelchairs,"people with mobility limitations can more easily enjoy the sandy beaches and the salty ocean. Check out the video below or the article posted by CSB Miami. 

"Deerfield Beach Rolls Out 'Ocean Wheelchair,'" CBS Miami 

PhD Thesis Determines that “Hand Surgery Enhances Life Quality for those with Spinal Cord Injuries”

Patient's hand before surgery (photo credit: University of Gothenburg, The Sahlgrenska Academy)Johanna Wangdell, a PhD student at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, wrote her thesis on the benefits of hand surgery for survivors of cervical spinal cord injuries. Johanna’s is the first study to focus on the “patient viewpoint” of the benefits of such surgeries. Johanna interviewed every patient that had hand reconstruction surgery at Sahlgrenska Univsity Hospital since 2003; Salgrenska has pioneered this procedure and has been performing and enhancing it since the 1970s. According to the results of her research, the majority of patients are extremely satisfied with the results of the surgery.  As Johnanna discovered, “The surgery doesn’t only deliver a physical benefit in the form of increased gripping strength. The ability to eat independently, to carry out household chores and leisure activities offers mental rewards which benefit our social life, our daily habits and the roles we perform. Knowing that you can handle things yourself…is, in many cases, invaluable.” 

Patient's hand after surgery (photo credit: University of Gothenburg, The Sahlgrenska Academy)While patients report increased ability and satisfaction with the surgery, it is not conducted very frequently outside of Sweden. While 4 of 10 spinal cord injury survivors receive the hand surgery in Sweden, the number is only 1 of 10 in the United States. As a result of her study, Johanna hopes that her research “will contribute to the surgery becoming available much more widely, both in Sweden and the rest of the world.”

Click the following link to learn more about Johanna Wangdells research on The University of Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska Academy website: “Hand surgery enhances life quality for those with spinal cord injuries”

New Technology Gives those without Speech the Gift of Their Own Voice

Samantha Grimaldo shown above courtesy of NPRSamantha Grimaldo, born with a rare disorder called Perisylvian syndrome, lost her ability to speak and has always needed to carry a machine to do the talking for her. She types in what she wants to say and the device repeats those words out loud. Even though the voice device nowadays is much smaller and portable, Samantha doesn’t like the sound of the voice that speaks for her. “Because it’s weird and older. I don’t want people to hear,” says 17-year-old Samantha.

Fortunately, Rupal Patel, a speech scientist at Northeastern University, is on a mission to individualize voices for the speaking device. She has asked kids with speech disorders to come into her lab and make a throaty “ahhhhh” sound. She records the sound, runs it through the computer and analyzes its inherent characteristics. “We can determine their pitch, the loudness, the breathiness of their voice, and the changes in clarity,” Patel says. Rupal Patel, Speech Scientist at Northeastern University, shown above (photo from NPR) Next, she takes the recording of a similar voice and combines it with the pitch, breathiness and other determined characteristics to create a unique voice for each individual. Samantha is one of the first to experience this new technology and it turns out that her voice is clear, light, and definitely one of a young girl her age.

Check out the following link to read or listen to this story as reported on National Public Radio News: "New Voices for the Voiceless: Synthetic Speech Gets an Upgrade," by Alex Spiegel

BrainLine.org: "20 Life-Changing Android Apps for People with Brain Injury"

We recently learned of BrainLine.org which offers many great resources for "preventing, treating, and living with traumatic brain injury." Click here to check out BrainLine's new segment on smartphone apps that can help those living with brain injuries.

Eye-Tracking Software to Help People with Disabilities Use Smartphones

An Israeli start-up company, uMoove, has spent the last three years developing a smartphone/tablet technology that allows users to control the device through eye and head movements. Moti Krispil, the founder and CEO of uMoove, sought to create this program to help people with disabilities use their devices “to do things like browse the Web, play games, and read books.”* The creators of uMoove were inspired by one of the founders’ relatives who’s living with ALS and is unable to use a smartphone or tablet.

While other companies, Samsung in particular, are trying to develop this same eye-tracking software, Moti and his team are determined to make this technology compatible on any device to make it available to all users and maximize it’s potential.

To learn more about uMoove…. 

Check out their website here http://umoove.me

*Or click this link to read Brian Chen’s NY Times article, “Eye-Tracking Tech Will Be Open to iPhones and Other Devices.”