The wheelchair is a very basic type of assistive technology.
Assistive technology is designed to help people with disabilities perform functions that would otherwise be difficult or impossible for them. Researchers have developed assistive technologies to help people with almost any permanent disability. Innovations to existing technologies happen continually and promise to even more dramatically improve the quality of life for people living with disabilities.
Mobility
People who have limited mobility are aided through a wide variety of assistive technologies. Wheelchairs are one type of mobility aid and range in complexity depending on the type of disability. Even some quadriplegics are able to move using sophisticated wheelchairs controlled by the mouth. Prosthetic technology, which helps patients overcome other physical limitations, is improving all the time. Bionic hands that have the ability to grip and pick up objects while being controlled by the brain are among the most advanced assistive technologies available.
Communication
Assistive technology gives some patients back the ability to communicate with those around them. For instance, patients who cannot speak or write can communicate via computer using devices that read eye movements. Someone who has lost the ability to speak due to a tracheostomy can regain the ability to speak to a degree by using a Passy-Muir valve. This device closes off the tracheostomy tube when the user is breathing out in order to force sound past the vocal chords.
Hearing
Assistive technology for people who are hearing-impaired mostly takes the form of hearing aids. The hearing-impaired individual wears a hearing aid tuned to help compensate for the specific type of hearing loss that he suffers from. Other hearing assistive technology includes using special systems in places where hearing can be difficult. These include systems that run on an FM or infrared frequency to provide a clear audio signal to those who are partially deaf. Visitors to those locations are given receivers to either plug in to existing hearing aids or headsets to be worn independent of other hearing devices. These systems are often installed in places like churches where there are large crowds or in environments where there are many competing noises, such as in an office.
Vision
There are many assistive technologies for the visually impaired. Simple technologies such as the text-to-speech feature on many computers provide visually impaired people with a way to use computers and obtain information aurally that other people obtain visually. This greatly increases work and educational opportunities for the blind and visually impaired. Other devices help to improve vision in near-blind people with varying degrees of success. Sensory substitution devices take visual cues and translate them into tactile nerve messages sent to the tongue via a prosthesis. Other devices magnify specific types of images such as text or television into a form more easily processed by those with low vision. Color-sensing devices are also used by those with low or no vision to detect color in the world around them.
