Lecture no : 3
Rehabilitation Engineering
Mr. Muhammad Moazzam
Lecturer(Biomedical Department)
University of the Lahore
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Contents
• Introduction to rehabilitation
• History
• What is Rehabilitation Engineering?
• What do rehab engineers do?
• What is Assistive Technology?
• Research areas
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Introduction to rehabilitation
• Since the late 1970s, there has been major growth in
the application of technology to
ameliorate the problems faced by people with
disabilities.
• Various terms have been used to describe this sphere
of activity, including prosthetics/orthotics,
rehabilitation engineering, assistive technology,
assistive device design, rehabilitation technology,
and even biomedical engineering applied to disability.
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Introduction to rehabilitation
• The two most frequently used terms today are
assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering.
Although they are used somewhat interchangeably,
they are not identical.
• Assistive technology can be viewed as a
product of rehabilitation engineering activities.
• Such a relationship is analogous to
health care being the product of the practice of
medicine.
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History
• Throughout history, people have sought to less the impact
of disabilities by using technology.
• After World War II in USA, Veterans Administration
(VA) realized the needs for the returning soldiers with
numerous and serious handicapping conditions.
• There were too few well-trained
artificial limb and brace technicians to meet the needs
of the returning soldiers.
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History
• To train these much-needed providers, the
federal government supported the
establishment of a number of prosthetic and
orthotic schools in the 1950s.
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History
• In the early 1960’s, another impetus to
rehabilitation engineering : birth defects
– Thalidomide adverse effect
– Broadened the target population of
assistive technology and rehabilitation
engineering
– Then, medical and technical
collaboration in research and
development produced
externally powered limbs for people A 1962 photo of baby born
with an extra appendage
of all sizes and genders. connected to the foot
caused by the pregnant
mother taking the drug
Thalidomide.
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History
• Passage of federal Rehabilitation Act of
1973:
– National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
– Rehabilitation Engineering
Centers (REC)
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History
• Areas of RECs’ investigation:
– Prosthetics and orthotics
– Spinal cord injury
– Lower and upper limb functional electrical
stimulation (FES)
– Sensory aids for the blind and deaf
– Effects of pressure on tissue
– Rehabilitation robotics
– Technology transfer
– Personal licensed vehicles
– Accessible telecommunications
– Applications of wireless technology
– Vocational rehabilitation
History
1980’s and 1990’s
◦ Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA) formation
◦ Increased role for Rehabilitation Engineering in service delivery
2000s
◦ Transition of service delivery role from design and fabrication
to integration, customization, performance analysis and
outcome measures
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History
◦ Continue design and fabrication role in research and
development sector which includes manufacturing and
research
The Title/Education/Certification of the
Rehabilitation Engineer
Resources for the Rehabilitation Engineer
Career Opportunities for the Rehabilitation Engineer
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Source of Information
• Publications
– Archives of Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation
– Human Factors
– Annals of Biomedical
Engineering
– IEEE Transactions on
Biomedical Engineering
– Journal of Rehabilitation R&D
– Assistive Technology
– IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and
Source of Information
IEEE - Engineering in Medicine and
Biology
◦ [Link]
◦ [Link]/docs/[Link]
Biomedical Engineering Society
◦ [Link]
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What is Rehabilitation Engineering?
• Rehabilitation engineering
– the application of science and technology to
improving the quality of life of people with
disabilities.
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What is Rehabilitation
Engineering?
Rehabilitation Engineering
Evaluation Research / Design
Treatment Testin
Re- g Fabrication
evaluation Rehabilitation Integration
Implementation Engineering Customer Support
Education Educatio
Training/ Trialing n Process
Research Optimization
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What do rehab engineers do?
• Work in
– research lab
– Hospitals/ clinic
– industry (i.e. product development lab)
• Work with
– Clients and their families, teachers, employers
– Health care providers (MD, OT, PT, SLP)
• More clinical work than other engineering
fields
– Engineers must learn how to work with people with
disabilities
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What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive technology (AT):
products, devices or equipment … that are
used to maintain, increase or improve the
functional capabilities of individuals with
disabilities
Service Device
AT
Strategy Practice
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Assistive
Technology
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Research areas
Recreation
transportation
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Research areas
Seating and wheeled mobility Sensory aids (hearing, vision)
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Research areas
Universal design
The design of products and environments to be usable by all
people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for
adaptation or specialized design.
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Prevalence of Disabling Conditions in the
United States
• 45–50 million persons have disabilities that slightly
limit their activities
32% hearing
21% sight
18% back or spine
16% leg and hip
5% arm and shoulder
4% speech
3% paralysis
1% limb amputation
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Prevalence of Disabling Conditions in
the United States
• 7–11 million persons have disabilities that significantly limit
their activities
30% back or spine
26% leg and hip
13% paralysis
9% hearing
8% sight
7% arm and shoulder
4% limb amputation
3% speech
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POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL
• The model is called the “PHAATE,” pronounced
fait, to incorporate policy,
human (person), activity, assistance, technology,
and environment
• People with disabilities (PWD) are affected by
public and often private/corporate policy.
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POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL
• To underestimate the impact of policy on the design
and service delivery process is to risk denial of
reimbursement or even entry into the marketplace.
• Technology is used by PWD to
accomplish some task or to perform an activity.
• Activity is a key factor in determining
participation in society.
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POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT (PHAATE)
MODEL
• People live in the “real world,” and the
environment impacts their functioning. It has been argued
that the environment is what determines if impairment
becomes a handicap.
• People perform activities in a
variety of environments, and this needs to be given due
consideration in the design, development, and service
delivery processes.
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POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL
• Last, rehabilitation engineers focus on
technology for people, and any model would
be incomplete without these components.
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POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL
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Questions?
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