Recently in technology Category

Zack Craft, vice president of rehabilitation technology and complex care at Total Medical Solutions identifies some of the current trends of the in-home medical device industry:

MedGadget.com recently highlighted a unique nose-controlled wheelchair designed to help severely disabled individuals. It may enable people with severe disabilities to navigate wheelchairs and communicate with their loved ones. The technology that powers the chair? Sniffing -- inhaling and exhaling through the nose. Read Nose Controlled Wheelchair for Severely Disabled. 

Distracted driving has become a national epidemic. In June, the State of Georgia became the most recent state to pass texting and cell phone bills into law. Georgia is the thirteenth state this year to pass legislation in an attempt to reduce the number of distracted while driving accidents. Take a look at 2010 New Cell Phone / Texting Driving Laws for a recap of states to pass such legislation. 

Life is fine and then something happens and it's not. Here at Total Medical Solutions, we deal with people who have experienced life-changing injuries every day. Our staff is continually inspired by the strength and grace evidenced by the people who we serve. We meet a lot of everyday heroes who pick themselves up and put their lives back together in the face of overwhelming odds.

 

This is the story of one such person - Chrissy - she is not one of our patients - but her story of recovery is incredible on several levels - for the medical technology involved; for the reminder that dedicated health care professionals have the power to make a huge difference in a patient's quality of life; and for the grace and attitude of the woman who suffered a devastating, life-changing injury and did not let it defeat her. 

View the remarkable story of Chrissy. It is truly amazing. She lost her face when she was shot at close range with a shotgun. She was only 16 years old. See Rebuilding Chrissy's Face

Zack Craft,  vice president of rehabilitation technology and complex care for Total Medical Solutions, encourages a standing feature integrated into a wheelchair base whenever possible for injured workers confined to a wheelchair. While these types of wheelchairs are more expensive on the front end, they provide for greatly improved mobility and enhanced wellness of the patient. Thus, they provide for much better outcomes over the life of the claim. 

Wheelchair Standing Defined.

Wheelchairs with built in standing features allow the patient to obtain a standing position without transferring from the wheelchair. Such wheelchairs incorporate a mechanical or electromechanical system manipulated with levers or controls that move the seat from horizontal to a vertical or anteriorly sloping position while maintaining verticality of the legrests and backrest, thus extending the hips and knee joints. A full vertical standing position is achieved directly from sitting, or through gradual angle changes from a laying position, or a combination of either of these positions. Most wheelchair standers allow for full or partial extension of the hip and knee joints, and full upright or partially tilted positions.

Benefits of standing include:

• Improved functional reach to enable participation in ADLs (Activities of Daily Living)
• Enhanced independence and productivity
• Vital organ capacity is greatly improved
• Reduced occurrence of urinary tract infections
• Bone mineral density loss reduced or eliminated
• Improved circulation; reduced swelling in extremeties
• Reduced abnormal muscle tone and spasticity
• Occurrence of pressure sores reduced
• Diminished occurrence of skeletal deformities
• Enhanced physiological well being

Additional benefits of standing wheelchairs include: reduced fatigue, ability for some male patients to use public urinals, a reduction in the need for attendant care, reduced transfers and reduced home modifications.

One of the chairs Zack recommends to patients is the Permobil C500 VS.

For more information on standing wheelchairs, or other assitive technology devices, please contact Total Medical Solutions.

 

Honda's experimental Bodyweight Support Assist device makes walking and stair-climbing easier for people in rehabilitation therapy or who are elderly. It will be on display at the "Why Design Now?" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution in New York, NY from May 14, 2010 through January 9, 2011. The exhibition showcases the work of designers from around the world and demonstrates how essential design and innovation are to some of society's most urgent human and environmental issues. The designers whose works are on display are being recognized for enhancing the human experience by inventing solutions that are as beautiful as they are just.