IIT-D students design wearable undergarment device that protects elderly people from hip injuries - The Economic Times

Kindly read the news below:

​Only yesterday a neighbour of mine died. He was 92. Had a fall in the bathroom resulting in hip fracture. Was in hospital, got chest infection (most probably iatrogenic) and died. News about this wearable protective device is ​very welcome. If you come to know of new ideas / devices please send them to me for inclusion in my blog:

Assistive devices for Ageing Citizens 

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IIT-D students design wearable undergarment device that protects elderly people from hip injuries
By PTI | 20 Apr, 2016, 

The device is made of 100 per cent cotton and is composed of plastic foam with micro-cellular injection. The protection is porous and of high tensile strength.


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EW DELHI: A wearable undergarment device that protects elderly persons from injuries sustained during falls, particularly in the hip and pelvis areas, designed by students at the Indian Institute of Technology here will soon be retailed online.

Conceptualised by students of the institute's mechanical engineering department, the self contained undergarment is fitted on the sides with plastic protection to shield the femur bone that juts out from either side of the hip area.

"The device is made of 100 per cent cotton and is composed of plastic foam with micro-cellular injection. The protection is porous and of high tensile strength.

"In case of a fall, it protects the femur bone by dispersing the load to surrounding tissues. So, therefore, there are no injuries or bruises," says Prof Naresh Bhatnagar, who is heading the project.

Owing to its small size, light weight and minimalist design, the device does not impair mobility.

The project is among the several innovations from the premier institute that will soon be available for purchase in the online market.

"It has been transfered to the industry and will soon be available on Flipkart at a price less than Rs 1,000. A similar device is available in the US for 100 USD, but this is the first in India," says Bhatnagar.

During its testing stage, the team found out that "not a single fracture was recorded" for people who had agreed to try it, but the major challenge that persists is to convince old people to actually use it, says the professor.

"While the compliance among the elderly is 70 per cent to 80 per cent, 92 per cent of those who gave it a shot felt that they said that they could leave it on while walking," he says.

The team says it has tested the device in the geriatric ward at the All India Institute of Medical Science and a senior citizen society in Ghaziabad among other institutions.

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The hip protective device, that has been sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, is also set to be on exhibit during the 12th edition of IIT Delhi's 'Open House' that is open to the public on April 23.

The day-long 'Open House exposition', has lined up over 500 research projects and 80 demonstration projects focusing on "high societal impact."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/iit-d-students-design-wearable-undergarment-device-that-protects-elderly-people-from-hip-injuries/articleshow/51910531.cms

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City welcomes WHO’s help list for the elderly - Pune Mirror

CITY WELCOMES WHO'S HELP LIST FOR THE ELDERLY
By Mayuri Phadnis, Pune Mirror | Feb 15, 2016, 02.30 AM IST


WHO aims to simplify the lives of the elderly (PIC FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY)
Citizens say that Pune lacks the infrastructure for senior citizens

From walking canes to wrist alarm systems, World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a survey to assemble a list of assisted living technologies for the world's geriatric population. The list is expected to be on the lines of WHO's essential medicines list. People working for the geriatric population in the city have received the move positively considering the fact that the city does not have senior citizen- friendly infrastructure.

"Bathroom bars, walking sticks, walkers and hearing aids are some of the basic requirements for the elderly. Although many organisations are working to rent out these items at not so significant costs, it is still unaffordable for the middle income group in the country. Also, the elderly might not always have the strength to push wheelchairs. But then again, if we think of getting battery operated wheelchairs, the question of affordability crops up. Among other problems, the purchase of adult diapers may pinch pockets," informed Vaishali Desai, co-ordinator for Dignity Foundation in Kalyani Nagar.

According to WHO's statement, this tool will help governments all over the world in acquiring priority products. Presently, only one out of 10 get these vital enhancements due to non-availability of these products, lack of awareness or affordability factors. With this project, the organisation wants to improve the quality of living for the elderly.

On a basic level, the elderly must be looked after with utmost attention. However, Desai cites plethora of hurdles that one faces in arranging proper care . "The cost of hiring caretakers is immense and some of the old age homes are in a deplorable state. The government should make assisted living home facilities available for the people at reasonable costs. Moreover, day care centres for the elderly, like those for children, should be established. In this country we have budgets for women, children as part of demographics, but no budgetary allocation has been made for the elderly," further added Desai.

Adding to this list, Dr Priyadarshani Kulkarni, secretary of the Indian Association of Palliative Care, talked of an urgent need for alerting devices in case emergency. "Travelling with senior citizens can be a problem due to lack of infrastructure across the country. Primarily, roads are not wheelchair- friendly. Also, climbing into buses is a major issue. To add to that, caretakers are not adequately trained, and could possibly injure bed-ridden people. Nurses char

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ge a lot," she said.

Beside the lack of basic facilities, the insurance sector doesn't aid in bettering the situation. Dr Avinash Bhutkar, president of Indian Medical Association's Pune Chapter, laments non-existent schemes. "For a middle class family, financing the elederly member's medication might pose a problem. Very few insurance programmes cover up for the financial requirements. For instance, no company has schemes cataract treatments since it does not require the patient to be admitted to the hospital. It puts families in a fix," he said.

http://www.punemirror.in/pune/civic/City-welcomes-WHOs-help-list-for-the-elderly/articleshow/50987176.cms

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SpeechEasyPD to Provide Helpful Devices for Parkinson’s Patients with Speech Issues

Janus Development Group, the maker of SpeechEasyPD, introduced the product in 2014. SpeechEasyPD is an in-the-ear device whic

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h looks like a hearing aid and helps promote fluency in those Parkinson's patients with speech difficulties.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological and progressive disease which affects both men and women, but more typically men. Among the many symptoms of Parkinson's disease, patients can experience decreased speech volume, repetitive speech and an overall decrease in speech intelligibility. Any and all of these factors can create communication issues for the patient

Studies have shown that the use of an auditory delay and/or a change in pitch can help increase the speech intelligibility of speech in those with Parkinson's disease. SpeechEasyPD uses both of these components in a small, discreet device worn in one ear of the client. The auditory delay and/or change in pitch recreates what is known as the 'choral effect', in which a person's repetitive speech is dramatically reduced or even eliminated when they speak or sing in unison with others. The choral effect has been well-documented for decades as a treatment for stuttering, and more recently used as a treatment for those with speech issues related to Parkinson's disease. Clinical use of SpeechEasyPD has also shown that the utilization of the delay may naturally slow the patient's speech rate. Often times with Parkinson's disease, people will exhibit a very fast rate of speech which, in turn, negatively impacts their intelligibility.

According to a small study conducted at Rush University in Chicago in which Parkinson's patients were fit with a SpeechEasyPD device, participants experienced an increase in their speech intelligibility and a decrease in their repetitive speech, or palilalia, they exhibited. A second study with a larger number of participants is now underway.

SpeechEasyPD was developed by a team of communication disorder researchers at East Carolina University, and is marketed exclusively by Janus Development Group. SpeechEasyPD devices are available via a nationwide network of state licensed, ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association)-certified speech language pathologists. More information about SpeechEasyPD is available at http://www.speecheasypd.com. Janus Development Group is a privately-held S-Corp, and has been developing, marketing and selling in-ear auditory feedback devices since 2001.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/07/prweb12825538.htm

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Technology Innovations That Could Help the Elderly - WSJ

​Look at this brainy women 91 coming up with innovative aids for the elderly.

Highly impressed. URL at the bottom.​

The world's population is aging at a rate never seen before, and the World Health Organization says that by 2050 two billion people will be over the age of 60.

Longer lifespans can be attributed in part to the development of new technologies. But ironically, the people who come up with new technologies rarely focus on innovations that could make day-to-day life easier for the elderly.

Barbara Beskind is an exception. The 91-year-old Ms. Beskind has been designing products since the Great Depression and owns several patents on inflatable equipment for helping children improve their balance. Now a part-time designer at the legendary Silicon Valley design firm IDEO, Ms. Beskind is still coming up with ideas and in her spare time makes equipment and gadgets for her friends.

"As a designer, there's always this dilemma," Ms. Beskind says. "Do I keep this idea to myself until I can find a manufacturer? Or do I reveal these things, and give away the store? Well, I'm 91 now. I don't have the time or money to wait around to get patents."

Ms. Beskind talked to The Wall Street Journal about technological innovations she thinks could help the elderly. Here are edited excerpts:

A better walker
WSJ: Do you have any ideas for products for older people that don't exist today?

MS. BESKIND: How about a device that can keep people from fracturing a hip? I would be interested in air bags that could be worn. I worked on a prototype, with five different sizes of hair curlers that come out from a waistband. But I couldn't get a power source that could inflate them fast enough.

I'd also like to see a new addition to the telephone. Today, you have volume control on the receiver. What we should have is speed control. I get a message on the machine, and they leave a 13-digit phone number to call back. I am listening, and I have to grab a pen, and sometimes people talk so fast. Slowing down messages would be good.


Instead of a walker, Ms. Beskind uses ski poles she modified to encourage upright posture and a dynamic gait. 

Also, a lot of people who care for the elderly come from other countries and speak only rudimentary English. For people who are sick and bedridden, it can be very frustrating. We should have translation technology, a device where you speak into it in one language and it comes out in another.

WSJ: Are there products for older people out today that you think could be better?

MS. BESKIND: I'm concerned about older people maintaining good balance. We need dynamic walkers. The regular walkers encourage poor posture and balance issues. People lean on walkers. There's a need for that, but there's also a need to stand upright and have a dynamic gait.

I use walking sticks that I designed myself. The bottoms of the sticks have rockers, like rocking chairs, instead of a cane-tip. They give me a push-off. It's almost like floating. You see, a walker just signals that you're old or disabled or dysfunctional. My walking sticks are modified ski poles. When people see me, they ask if I'm headed to the slopes.

Higher-tech glasses
WSJ: Do you think you could design better hearing aids for older people?

MS BESKIND: As a close observer of elders who need hearing assistance, I think there needs to be something that could be regulated externally. I envision a simple surgical implant behind each ear—perhaps a conductor or electrode—that would receive signals from an external control device that might be worn in a pants pocket or on a retractable cord pinned to [clothing] fabric.

Control for background noise and close conversation tones, pitch, etc., could be refined by those experienced in the field. There would be no discomfort when sleeping on one side, and because the hearing aid wouldn't be removed at night, there would be no risk of the person missing an emergency call or fire.

WSJ: Any ideas for better eyeglasses?

MS BESKIND: I'd like to see a camera mounted on the bridge of glasses. I'm legally blind, myself. A camera could give enhanced visual accuracy that lenses don't give. A camera could help with peripheral vision. Also, how about a photo-identity [feature] for people who are approaching? And voice-recognition technology? Politicians might want this too!

WSJ: What is your opinion of the mobility scooters that many older people use these days?

MS BESKIND: If you need it, use it. But there's been a big ad campaign for a lot of people who don't really need them. The scooters are used too often. Try to keep your balance and your circulation. Don't prematurely [opt for a scooter]. These scooters don't keep up your physical health.

WSJ: The trend nowadays is to put sensors inside of medical devices and orthopedic equipment, sensors that collect information and send it to doctors and family members. Is this an idea that older people are comfortable with?

MS BESKIND: It just depends on the person. Generally speaking, baby boomers will be faster to accept technology as an answer than will people in my age group. But anything that really helps—say, technology that can send information to doctors—is likely to be readily accepted by everyone.

Mr. Hay is a reporter for Dow Jones VentureWire and The Wall Street Journal in San Francisco. Email him at timothy.hay@wsj.com.

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http://www.wsj.com/articles/technology-innovations-that-could-help-the-elderly-1435245122

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Distribution of Aids and Assistive Devices for Persons with Disabilites | Business Standard News

​Assistive devices are need not only by disabled who are so recognised under ​Disability Act, but also senior citizens who are poor. When will the ministry wake up, we pray!

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Distribution of Aids

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and Assistive Devices for Persons with Disabilites

Central government has recognized Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) as an integral part of the human resource and is committed towards empowerment of PwDs in the country. A Samajik Adhikarita Shivir (Camp) for free distribution of aids and assistive devices for PwDs under the ADIP Scheme of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) was held at Gangtok, Sikkim today, where the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Shri Pawan Kumar Chamling; Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot; Smt. Tulsi Devi, Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment & Welfare, Govt. of Sikkim and Shri Lov Verma, Secretary, DEPwD were present.

For the first time 419 beneficiaries were identified in the State of Sikkim and Total Learning Material (TLM) Kits, Lap tops, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, Braille Kits and other items, valued at Rs.32.00 lakh, were distributed to these identified beneficiaries.

The Chief Minister of Sikkim welcomed the Union Minister Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot and announced that the Government of Sikkim shall undertake all possible steps for the development of PwDs. He informed that Special School for Hearing Impaired at Gangtok and Residential School for Visually Impaired at Buntar, South Sikkim and Rehabilitation Centre have been established at STNM Hospital at Gangtok. The State Government has already identified more than 9000 PwDs and Disability Pension @Rs.600 is being paid by the State Government. He reiterated the commitment of the State Government for supporting the RPwD Bill, 2014 and requested that a Composite Rehabilitation Centre may be established with the support of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities at Gangtok. He further stated that the Hon'ble Union Minister's presence at Gangtok re-affirms the love and affection of Hon'ble Prime Minister towards the people of Sikkim and his commitment for development of State of Sikkim. He also congratulated Ms. Ira Singhal, the first woman with disability, who has secured 1st Rank in the Civil Services Examination 2014, conducted by the UPSC.

The Minister Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot assured the Chief Minister of Sikkim that all necessary support shall be provided by the Central Government for implementation of the Scheme of distribution of Aids and Assistive Devices (ADIP), Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS), Scheme for District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs), Scheme of Cochlear Implant, Scheme for Vocational Training for PwDs and Braille Presses. For setting up of Industrial Development Centre under the SIPDA scheme of the Government, further support shall be provided. He assured support for a new Composite Rehabilitation Centre, a project which shall cost about Rs.60 crore.

Secretary, DEPwD, Shri Lov Verma stressed the need for vocational training of PwDs and requested the State Government to ensure that 3% reservation in government jobs may be completed in the State and State of Sikkim may strive to be the first State to achieve the norm of 3% reservation. 

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http://www.business-standard.com/article/government-press-release/distribution-of-aids-and-assistive-devices-for-persons-with-disabilites-115071100698_1.html

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Thermometers and Wrist devices

Anoop Verma's review of "Gadgets for good health" in "Dignity

Dialogue" June 2011 issue is worth reading.

Variant types of thermometers (keep it in your ear type, keep near the
body (non-contact) type), wrist watches that measure your BP, Pulse
rate, heart beats? are mentioned. When a Rs 50 mercury thermometer
will give the temperature, will you spend rs 2550 just for the
convenience of non-contact feature? Two similar products - Wrist based
BP monitors - from same company Omron - are mentioned without bringing
out the difference between the two.  One way in which I benefited from
the Article is that I came to know that  Amazon is a good source for
such products too. I thought they were only for books chiefly.
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Maa Sai Surgicals ASRao Nagar HYderabad

dear all,

useful info for those living near dr.as.rao road and nearby areas;-
maa sai surgicals, plot no. 142, maruthi nagar, dr a s rao nagar
opp. venkateswara swamy temple, hyd-62., phone9848325123/9949277676.
web     www.maasaisurgicals.webs.com
sells various surgical aids, viz.
collars,belts, diabatic foot waer, walking aids, socks,stockings, special commodes, adapters,
tablet cutters,organizers,gloves, and many more items.
they offer, discounts and free home delivery. they have another branch at neredmet, opposite, police station also.
self bought a pair of diabatic footwear last year there and finding it good.
[ let me wish that there may be no need  for these, to all 111]
r.raghavan:


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Posted by: raghavan ramasamy <alarag_2000@yahoo.com>