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Greetings!
Snow presents people with challenges, but those
of
us in wheelchairs are challenged the most.
Here are
some interesting articles that we hope will transport
you out of the cold and snow and into the worlds of
science, travel and yes,
activism...(all
good to get the blood going!) So make sure to read
about the amazing breakthroughs in artificial 'walking'
technology among others, also about a way to type
and surf the
net with just your eyes,
and a neat new travel search product that'll put you in
a hotel
room just right for you! So,check out this month's
offerings.
As always,
we at Monroe wish
you a
great month and if you have a
need or a question, we are
here for you!
| Expedia Offers New Option for Disabled Travelers! |
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Expedia.com
has launched a set of new features that allows
customers to search for hotels based on whether or
not they have facilities for the deaf, blind, or mobility
challenged.
There are lots of options to choose from, but
finding them is a little tricky. Once you've entered your
destination and dates and clicked "search,"
select "show more" under "hotel preferences" at the
top of the results page. This will produce a list of
options, with "accessibility options" in bold text at the
bottom. Click this, choose the options you want, and
click "search." Options include wheelchair-accessible
bathrooms, roll-in showers, and other accessibility
equipment.
Once you choose a hotel, you'll have to request a
room with the options you want. Expedia then contacts
the hotel on the traveler's behalf to make sure those
options are available and guaranteed, and finally
confirms this with the travelers. If, for whatever reason,
the property can't promise availability, Expedia says it
will work with the traveler to find alternative
accommodations.
Both Travelocity and Orbitz allow you to search for
properties that are "handicapped accessible"or that
have "Handicapped rooms/facilities" but as far as we
know, Expedia's is the first truly comprehensive
search option for disabled travelers. Try it!
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| Accessible cabs hit cities with the help of Federal $$--Should your town be next? |
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Traveling around Washington, D.C., is a challenge for
Bobby Coward, a quadriplegic, who in his job for
DIRECT Action, a non-profit organization advocating
rights for the disabled, frequently has to go to
conferences and counseling sessions.
Coward, 45, of Washington, uses a motorized
wheelchair and says he often relies on public
transportation. Broken elevators have stopped him
from reaching the subway, and crowds and
out-of-order lift devices have kept him off the bus, he
says."I've missed flights because of the service,"
Coward says.
For years, Coward has wanted wheelchair-accessible
taxis to be available in Washington. He'll get his wish
in January, when a fleet of 20 Toyota Sienna minivans
retrofitted for wheelchair use is expected to go into full
service.
Washington is one of a growing number
of local governments across the USA tapping into
Federal Transit Administration funds known as New
Freedom grants to jump-start accessible taxi services
in their area.
Still a shortage exists. One that is bad both for the
disabled community and the more than 400 cities with
transit services required by the ADA to offer the
disabled a shared ride service. One issue
surrounding accessible taxis that
isn't talked about is that their availability could reduce
or replace the
huge
paratransit cost for most of the U.S cities with transit
services.
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| The eyes have it: Eyegaze Edge allows you to type and surf the net...with just your eyes! |
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Jack Orchard of St. Louis, Mo., relies on the Eyegaze
system for much more than generating speech.
Paralyzed from the neck down, Orchard wrote his 192-
page autobiography using the Eyegaze and said the
technology made the process incredibly easy.
For Jack and others who can't use a standard
keyboard and mouse, the Eyegaze system can control
a computer simply by turning your eye movements into
typing, "talking", even turning on a lamp.
After calibrating the system, all the user does is look
directly at control keys on the system's monitor, which
can display a keyboard, mouse controls, a speech
synthesizer with series of phrases to choose from, or
a program for turning lights and appliances on and off
in conjunction with the optional X-10 controller kit. The
system tracks where the user is looking on the control
screen and "presses" a key when he looks at a key for
a specified period of time.
Users can connect a
Mac or Windows system to the Eyegaze Edge system
and use the keyboard and mouse screens to browse
the Web and run any off-the-shelf software. The
system is not inexpensive, however. Prices start at
$7,250, but LC Technologies offers help in navigating
the paperwork if you need Medicare, Medicaid or
private insurance to help defray the cost.
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| For All Your Mobility Needs, Call Monroe Wheelchair! |
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You can depend on all of us at Monroe Wheelchair for
the latest
technology in medical equipment and the highest
quality healthcare.
Our staff has a combined 300 years of experience in
the medical equipment industry and Monroe's on-site
owner, Doug Westerdahl, continually monitors and
works together with his staff to improve customer
service.
Call us at 1-888-546-8595
today!
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Advances in the Science of Assisted Walking and Bionics |
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Exciting breakthroughs are being reported in the fields
of computer-assisted movement, bionics and
treatment for spinal cord injury.
A recent article in Parade magazine discussed
clinical trials regarding mechanized leg braces for
assisted walking, reports the Sam Schmidt Paralysis
Foundation. This technology, called ReWalk, was
developed by Amit Goffer, an Israeli engineer who
happens to be a paraplegic himself.
Currently
undergoing clinical trials in the United States, ReWalk
may have the potential to enable a paraplegic to make
his or her way more easily through the day.
Another article in a recent issue of National Geographic
magazine discussed clinical trials on "bionics".
In these clinical trials, missing or ruined body parts
are replaced by devices embedded in the subjects
nervous systems that respond to commands from
their brains. The machines they use are called neural
prostheses or, as scientists have become more
comfortable with a term made popular by science
fiction writers, bionics.
Meanwhile, other
scientists work toward finding a way to reconnect
severed nerves or to route around a damaged area of
the spinal cord. Dr.
Michael Sofroniew at UCLA and colleagues have
used drugs and electrical stimulation in successful
trials on paralyzed rats.
Dr. Stephen Davies and his
research team at the University of Colorado has
achieved similar results with stem cells. It is hoped
and expected that these experiments will proceed to
human clinical trials in the near future.
The
implications of these and other ongoing studies are
exciting and marvelous. However, the process of
taking an idea to the clinical trial stage is long,
arduous and very expensive. These scientists deserve
all the support we can give them.
Especially notable in the stories about mechanically
assisted walking and bionics is what the participants
look forward to doing again someday. Those with
spinal cord injury find themselves in a world filled with
obstacles that most people dont notice, such as
stairs, curbs and narrow doorways. Their hopes for
the future of scientific advances are simple. They look
forward to household chores being more easily
completed and errands becoming less than major
expeditions.
The Sam
Schmidt Paralysis Foundation supports
research grants to scientists working on these
issues, quality of life grants to organizations dedicated
to improving daily life for those with disabilities, and by
taking every opportunity to publicize the need to
discover new treatments and ultimately a cure for
spinal cord injury.
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