#Assistive Technology Devices

[adaptivetechsolution]

Adapted Toys

Therapist selected switch adapted toys to allow individuals with physical disabilities the opportunity to play and learn as independently as possible.

[turtley-ausome]

Finaly got screwdriver and help and got the new pink frame case on my Accent AAC device yay its so prety!

[us-being-us2]

AAC Struggles

I just wrote my AAC device company to see what support they can give me, but I thought I'd take my struggles to the community for advice, too. I struggle to be concise and to organize my thoughts, to bear with me.

I have Level 2 Autism (I find diagnostic levels helpful, it's okay if they're not for you, and I'll never use them for anyone else unless asked to by the person with the diagnosis. I also support self-diagnosis/-identification), and expressive-receptive communication disorder, and self-diagnosed selective mutism. I consider myself an unreliable communicator. I am a part-time AAC user, but I want to use it to support myself more than I currently do; I often just don't communicate in situations where I have needs or thoughts. I was able to get AAC after not having support due to childhood circumstances that don't reflect on my support needs about 5 years ago, but I'm really struggling to make it work for me. I struggle to build sentences from individual words. I also struggle to respond in real-time, and people aren't very patient. I have a big struggle with phone calls with a captioning service; I get constantly hung up on because of the computer voice and my response speed. I've been laboriously typing out/scripting what I want to say in appointments in my AAC as whole paragraphs and just playing those paragraphs in appointments so far, or just continuing to have support staff speak for me because I'm too slow on AAC to do things like the check-in process and people yell at me for not talking. And typing everything out as paragraphs ahead-of-time only works for appointments and severely limits how much I can react to what happens in the moment or even make simple, real-time requests. I used to write out what I wanted to say at appointments and just hand it to the doctor before I had AAC. Surely, there should be a way to make AAC help me do things like chat with my friends or ask for things from my aide. I can talk some. But it's very difficult, not possible most of the time, and leads to some pretty volatile meltdowns from overload. I also have some trouble understanding speech, which is a while different question.

Open to any advice.

Oh, I also keep breaking my wheelchair AAC mounts because I'm not a very good driver. I'll tag wheelchair users, too, in case there's a better mount option than what's pictured.

Also, my AAC is Lingraphica.

[disabilityaware]

Assistive devices are part of one's personal space. Always ask for permission before handling a disabled person's assistive device. This includes the less obvious ones like oxygen tanks and communication boards.

In solidarity,

- Aalya

[islamunderhell]

Hey Tumblr fam,

I hope this post finds you well. I'm reaching out to share a personal journey that I'm embarking on and to ask for your support in making it possible.

As many of you may know, the Gaza Strip is currently facing heightened conflicts with Israel, and the situation has made it increasingly unsafe for many of us living here. Amidst this turmoil, I've made the difficult decision to seek safety elsewhere, and my destination is Egypt.

However, the journey from Gaza to Egypt is not an easy one, especially given the current circumstances. Travel costs, for me and my family, are significant hurdles to overcome. That's why I've set up a GoFundMe page to help cover these expenses.

Before the conflict escalated, I worked as a rehabilitation engineer and assistive technologies specialist, dedicating my time and skills to helping persons with disabilities. It was more than just a job; it was my passion. Now, I find myself in a situation where I need assistance, and I'm turning to my community for support.

Your donation, no matter how small, can make a world of difference in ensuring my safety and well-being. EVERY EURO COUNTS.

Here's the link to my GoFundMe page where you can donate and read more about my story: https://www.gofundme.com/f/escaping-conflict-a-journey-towards-hope-and-rene

If you're unable to contribute financially, that's okay too! Simply sharing this post with your network can help spread the word and reach more people who may be able to help.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read this and for considering supporting me on this journey to safety. Your kindness and generosity mean more to me than words can express.

Stay safe and take care,

Islam.

[rosesandthorns44]

I lowkey forgot how helpful my grabber tool is for tidying up my room...

I can sit in a central location and just pick trash/laundry/recyclables and put them where they go!

I've had the dang thing for probably close to a decade. Why don't I use it? IDK. Internalized ableism? Imposter Syndrome? Denial?

I always tell myself, "I'm better now. I don't need all those things anymore," and avoid using any assistive devices unless I'm in so much pain I can barely move. It's bullshit! I'm making things so much harder for myself.

I keep thinking about getting a rollator so I can get out of the apartment more on my days off. Then I tell myself that's being overdramatic, and i don't need it. Lately, I'm resistant to even using my cane.

I get scared to go places on my own in case I get too tired! Clearly, I need SOMETHING.

I didn't use to be so self-conscious about visibly appearing disabled. It's more since I've entered the workforce, and I'm the only one at my company who uses mobility aids. Also, I got severely harassed/discriminated against by my ex-boss (reported her ass and got her fired!).

I'm fucking tired of being the odd one out at work and working in a completely NOT accessible building where the only mobility aid I even have the option to use is my cane.

Heavily considering applying to an independent living center a few cities over so I can be amongst peers and do some good for the local disabled community. It's just hard to make the leap and change careers.

[artisticdivasworld]

Preventing Distracted Driving for Truckers

Let’s talk about something serious today—distracted driving. We all know the roads can be unpredictable, and when you’re hauling 80,000 pounds of freight, every second counts. So let’s get real about the hidden dangers out there and how distracted driving could be putting you, and everyone else, at risk. What Is Distracted Driving, Really? You’ve probably heard this term a million times, but…

[connecthomekit]

Homebridge vs Home Assistant: Which One to Choose?

If you're diving into smart home automation, you’ve probably come across Homebridge and Home Assistant. Here's a quick breakdown:

✨ Homebridge is great if you're in the Apple ecosystem and just need to connect non-HomeKit devices to the Home app. It’s easy to set up and perfect for beginners looking for simple integration.

🌍 Home Assistant offers more flexibility and customization. It supports tons of devices and is perfect for advanced users who want full control over their smart home. It’s open-source and works with any ecosystem.

In short:

Homebridge = Simplicity + Apple compatibility

Home Assistant = Power, flexibility, and full control

Choose based on your needs, or even use both! 🌟

#HomeAutomation #Homebridge #HomeAssistant #SmartHome #Tech

[jcmarchi]

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/interactive-mouthpiece-opens-new-opportunities-for-health-data-assistive-technology-and-hands-free-interactions/

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

When you think about hands-free devices, you might picture Alexa and other voice-activated in-home assistants, Bluetooth earpieces, or asking Siri to make a phone call in your car. You might not imagine using your mouth to communicate with other devices like a computer or a phone remotely. 

Thinking outside the box, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Aarhus University researchers have now engineered “MouthIO,” a dental brace that can be fabricated with sensors and feedback components to capture in-mouth interactions and data. This interactive wearable could eventually assist dentists and other doctors with collecting health data and help motor-impaired individuals interact with a phone, computer, or fitness tracker using their mouths.

Resembling an electronic retainer, MouthIO is a see-through brace that fits the specifications of your upper or lower set of teeth from a scan. The researchers created a plugin for the modeling software Blender to help users tailor the device to fit a dental scan, where you can then 3D print your design in dental resin. This computer-aided design tool allows users to digitally customize a panel (called PCB housing) on the side to integrate electronic components like batteries, sensors (including detectors for temperature and acceleration, as well as tongue-touch sensors), and actuators (like vibration motors and LEDs for feedback). You can also place small electronics outside of the PCB housing on individual teeth.

Play video

MouthIO: Fabricating Customizable Oral User Interfaces with Integrated Sensing and Actuation Video: MIT CSAIL

The active mouth

“The mouth is a really interesting place for an interactive wearable and can open up many opportunities, but has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity,” says senior author Michael Wessely, a former CSAIL postdoc and senior author on a paper about MouthIO who is now an assistant professor at Aarhus University. “This compact, humid environment has elaborate geometries, making it hard to build a wearable interface to place inside. With MouthIO, though, we’ve developed a new kind of device that’s comfortable, safe, and almost invisible to others. Dentists and other doctors are eager about MouthIO for its potential to provide new health insights, tracking things like teeth grinding and potentially bacteria in your saliva.”

The excitement for MouthIO’s potential in health monitoring stems from initial experiments. The team found that their device could track bruxism (the habit of grinding teeth) by embedding an accelerometer within the brace to track jaw movements. When attached to the lower set of teeth, MouthIO detected when users grind and bite, with the data charted to show how often users did each.

Wessely and his colleagues’ customizable brace could one day help users with motor impairments, too. The team connected small touchpads to MouthIO, helping detect when a user’s tongue taps their teeth. These interactions could be sent via Bluetooth to scroll across a webpage, for example, allowing the tongue to act as a “third hand” to open up a new avenue for hands-free interaction.

“MouthIO is a great example how miniature electronics now allow us to integrate sensing into a broad range of everyday interactions,” says study co-author Stefanie Mueller, the TIBCO Career Development Associate Professor in the MIT departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering and leader of the HCI Engineering Group at CSAIL. “I’m especially excited about the potential to help improve accessibility and track potential health issues among users.”

Molding and making MouthIO

To get a 3D model of your teeth, you can first create a physical impression and fill it with plaster. You can then scan your mold with a mobile app like Polycam and upload that to Blender. Using the researchers’ plugin within this program, you can clean up your dental scan to outline a precise brace design. Finally, you 3D print your digital creation in clear dental resin, where the electronic components can then be soldered on. Users can create a standard brace that covers their teeth, or opt for an “open-bite” design within their Blender plugin. The latter fits more like open-finger gloves, exposing the tips of your teeth, which helps users avoid lisping and talk naturally.

This “do it yourself” method costs roughly $15 to produce and takes two hours to be 3D-printed. MouthIO can also be fabricated with a more expensive, professional-level teeth scanner similar to what dentists and orthodontists use, which is faster and less labor-intensive.

Compared to its closed counterpart, which fully covers your teeth, the researchers view the open-bite design as a more comfortable option. The team preferred to use it for beverage monitoring experiments, where they fabricated a brace capable of alerting users when a drink was too hot. This iteration of MouthIO had a temperature sensor and a monitor embedded within the PCB housing that vibrated when a drink exceeded 65 degrees Celsius (or 149 degrees Fahrenheit). This could help individuals with mouth numbness better understand what they’re consuming.

In a user study, participants also preferred the open-bite version of MouthIO. “We found that our device could be suitable for everyday use in the future,” says study lead author and Aarhus University PhD student Yijing Jiang. “Since the tongue can touch the front teeth in our open-bite design, users don’t have a lisp. This made users feel more comfortable wearing the device during extended periods with breaks, similar to how people use retainers.”

The team’s initial findings indicate that MouthIO is a cost-effective, accessible, and customizable interface, and the team is working on a more long-term study to evaluate its viability further. They’re looking to improve its design, including experimenting with more flexible materials, and placing it in other parts of the mouth, like the cheek and the palate. Among these ideas, the researchers have already prototyped two new designs for MouthIO: a single-sided brace for even higher comfort when wearing MouthIO while also being fully invisible to others, and another fully capable of wireless charging and communication.

Jiang, Mueller, and Wessely’s co-authors include PhD student Julia Kleinau, master’s student Till Max Eckroth, and associate professor Eve Hoggan, all of Aarhus University. Their work was supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation grant and was presented at ACM’s Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology.

[worm-dark]

Accessibility Reader Wanted

I am looking for someone who regularly requires a screen reader to test-read my portfolio PDF for me and send me a brief review of how well it worked for them, and notes on what isn't working if they run into problems. I would be happy to pay them, and include a credit at the end if they would prefer. It's a thirty-seven page document with a mix of text and images. Hit me up if this sounds like you, or please tag a friend who might be interested.

[adaptivetechsolution]

Nerf Gun Switch Adapted

This awesome Nerf registered-trademark. dart gun with lights has been switch adapted to accept a standard 3.5mm switch (sold separately). Using an external switch (not included), people with limited hand function can blast foam darts up to 90 feet!

Visit Here : https://www.adaptivetechsolutions.com/nerf-gun-switch-adapted/

[mitzvahmelting]

holy shit this is cool

[cosmosjourney1]

🍽️ The Rise of Smart Kitchens: How AI Is Transforming Cooking Forever

🤖 What Is a Smart Kitchen? Smart kitchens use AI-powered devices and connected appliances to make cooking easier, faster, and more efficient. From voice-activated ovens to refrigerators that track expiry dates, smart kitchen technology is rapidly changing how people cook and eat. These kitchens include: Smart fridges with internal cameras AI recipe assistants Voice-controlled microwaves and…

[homehappydreams]

Best Smart Table Lamp Google Voice Control [TRANSFORMATIVE] LINK IN BIO

Transform your home with the best smart table lamp featuring Google voice control. Perfect for creating a smart and automated lighting experience.

[drchristophedelongsblog]

“Age tech” is a growing field, and it is important to distinguish it from “health tech.”

What is Age Tech ?

Age tech, or aging technology, focuses on developing technological solutions specifically designed to address the needs and challenges associated with aging.

Its main objective is to improve the quality of life of the elderly by promoting 

Autonomy 

Enabling seniors to remain independent for longer.

Health

Monitor and support physical and mental health.

Well-being

Improve comfort, safety and social connection.

Main differences with Health Tech

Although age tech and health tech share common health-related goals, there are important distinctions.

Target audience  :

Health tech is aimed at a broad audience, covering all ages and health conditions.

Age tech focuses specifically on older adults and their unique needs.

Specific objectives  :

Health tech often targets the diagnosis, treatment and management of diseases.

Age tech focuses on prevention, maintaining autonomy and improving the quality of life related to aging.

Approach  :

Health tech can involve complex medical technologies and clinical interventions.

Age tech favors user-friendly solutions, adapted to the abilities and preferences of older people.

Examples of Age Tech technologies

Connected objects  : Smart watches, motion sensors, health tracking devices.

Software and applications  : Cognitive exercises, communication with loved ones, medication reminders.

Robotics  : Personal assistants, companion robots, mobility aids.

Telemedicine  : Remote consultations, home monitoring, management of chronic diseases.

Smart homes  : Automatic lighting, fall detection, security systems.

In short, age tech is a specialized branch of health tech, focused on the unique needs of older adults. Its development promises to have a significant impact on the way we age, allowing us to live longer, healthier, and more independently.

Go further

[likitakans]

AI and Health: New Technologies Paving the Way for Better Treatment

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding rapidly in the health sector, and it is revolutionizing our medical system. With the help of AI, new technologies are being developed that are not only helpful in accurately diagnosing diseases but are also playing an important role in personalized treatment and management.

Quick and accurate diagnosis of diseases AI-based tools can now analyze medical imaging data such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs quickly and accurately. This helps doctors to quickly detect complex conditions such as cancer, heart diseases, and neurological problems.

Personalized medicine AI can help create personalized treatment plans for every individual by analyzing genomics and biometrics. This technology ensures that the patient gets the right medicine and the right dose at the right time.

Improved health management AI-based health apps and wearables such as smart watches are now helping people monitor their health condition. These devices regularly track health indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure and sleep quality.

Accelerating medical research The role of AI has become extremely important in the development of new drugs and vaccines. Using AI, scientists can analyze complex data sets and make new medical discoveries faster.

Accessible and affordable healthcare AI technology is helping in delivering affordable and effective healthcare, even in rural and remote areas. Telemedicine and virtual health assistants are bridging the gap between patients and doctors.

Conclusion Artificial intelligence is playing an important role in making healthcare more effective, accurate, and accessible. However, there are challenges such as data security and ethics in the use of AI technology which need to be dealt with. In the coming years, with more advanced and innovative uses of AI, the healthcare landscape may change completely.