Magazine: Year-round information portal on the topic of "Self-determined living"
Labor force participation of people with disabilities in the time of Coronavirus – opportunities and stumbling blocks
Not many of us are lucky enough to find our dream job and stay in it until the day we retire. Sometimes this might be due to health and medical reasons, which could necessitate occupational rehabilitation. If people have a severe disability, Germany’s Federal Integration Offices, or Inclusion Offices along with the pension insurance providers are the responsible authorities.
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Rollators: lightweight mobility aids with style
They used to have an image problem. But now, rollators or walkers, are anything but boring or stuffy. For many, they are treasured state-of-the-art companions for everyday life and a way to express their personality.
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The right assistive technology promotes active sports participation
Whether it’s activities in the water, snow or at home – exercise is a great way to boost your health and feel better. A wide range of assistive technology also makes this an option for people with physical disabilities or mild dementia. Some of these tools allow users to enjoy sports in spectacular, beautiful backdrops – in both winter and summer.
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Lionel Messi and OrCam: Enhancing self-determination in the lives of people with visual impairments
Off the soccer field, professional footballer Lionel Messi is known for his commercials for Pepsi, Lay's or Dolce & Gabbana. Now he has also become the brand ambassador for OrCam MyEye and shines a bright light on this unique assistive technology. Why did the two decide to form this rather unusual partnership?
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Crisis-proof: moso navigates confidently through the coronavirus pandemic
Years of business expertise, in-house production, and new personnel competency – the Motion Solutions GmbH is well-positioned to withstand the challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic and continues to offer its customers the best service. CEO Gierse discusses the role products like the COSEAT and EasyStand play in this setting and reveals the expectations the moso team has for the future.
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Accessible hiking in the mountains: The X8 off-road power wheelchair takes users to the top
From the valley to the hut in a wheelchair – and no shuttle bus or mountain railway required. Wheelchair manufacturer Sunrise Medical teamed up with various partners as part of a joint initiative to turn this idea into a reality.
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Joëlette Kid makes outdoor experiences more accessible
Going on new adventures with the whole family is fun for everybody. At least, if the necessary assistive devices meet the needs of their users. So does Joëlette Kid – the new all-terrain chair by Ferriol-Matrat. In an interview with REHACARE.com, Alison-Lore Bourget told us about the special features and how especially the children react to their new possibilities.
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Mobility: Small hand control systems with a big effect
Simple, ergonomic, reliable – the multifunctional handles, ACCEL BIKE and ACCEL QUAD, enable improved participation in a mobile and self-determined life. What the two solutions have in common and yet differ, Pierre Gouraud, International Sales of Sojadis Equipement, reveals in an interview with REHACARE.com.
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EXTRA: Made to measure sports wheelchair for a better performance
Solid and adapted – this is how auxiliary means for competitive sports such as wheelchair basketball should be. That's why EXTRA wheelchairs from Turkey offers made to measure sports wheelchairs to professional sports people. REHACARE.com talked to Demirhan Serefhan, Managing Director of EXTRA, about the importance of customization and valuable feedback directly from the basketball court.
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Photo gallery: A safe island for siblings
Since May 2020, the sibling support of the Angelika Reichelt Kinder- und Jugendhospizes Joshuas Engelreich (English: Angelika Reichelt Children and Youth Hospice) has been taking place in the newly created so called Geschwisterinsel (English: Sibling Island). You can gain a small insight in our photo gallery.
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Jörg Dommershausen – That's how he rolls
Jörg Dommershausen takes comprehensive care of his clients: He helps those affected to cope with changed circumstances in their professional and private lives after serious accidents. In addition to his counselling services, Dommershausen also produces two (German) podcasts and a guide. What is indispensable for his work with his clients and how he otherwise rolls, he tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Lily Rice – That's how she rolls
Lily Rice can usually be found at the skatepark, refining her WCMX techniques in her pink wheelchair. The training is paying off: Lily entered the scene in 2017, two years later she was Women's World Champion. It was only logical that her biggest challenge to date was in the halfpipe – what it was, who motivates her and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Lilli Zeifert – That's how she rolls
Lilli Zeifert has already seen a lot of the world. Perhaps that's why her great love is for what there is still to discover beyond the Earth: Whatever there is to find out about astrophysics – Lilli wants to know. Who she thinks are the smartest minds of all time, what she would like to discuss with them and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Evelyn Brezina – That's how she rolls
Vienna from a wheelchair perspective – this is how Evelyn Brezina captures all the beauty in her surroundings in her photos. Because she really loves taking pictures. What assistive devices she would like to have for this passion, who she would like to ask as many questions as possible and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Kim Cremer – That's how he rolls
Kim Cremer is a doer, he doesn't let anything stop him. And even though he doesn't need a wheelchair himself, he sees where society still has a lot to catch up when it comes to accessibility – both in everyday life and in people's minds. Who has always encouraged him in his doer mentality, how this mentality fits in with his big dream and and how he otherwise rolls, he tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Nicole Kultau – That's how she rolls
Enjoying life despite all the difficulties: That is Nicole Kultau's attitude. One of the hurdles in her life was breast cancer – a topic that has left its mark on her and about which she informs her followers today. She wants other people affected to feel understood. Why her son is her teacher in matters of happiness and how she otherwise rolls, she tells us on REHACARE.com.
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Sensor glasses: Move the wheelchair independently with your eyes
The eyes play an important role in everyday communication, for example in recognising facial expressions. But for people with severely limited mobility, the eye makes much more possible: Equipped with the MyEcc Pupil, they can move their power wheelchair or a robotic arm independently. How do the glasses make all this possible? REHACARE.com asked Managing Director Thomas Rosner.
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Myd'l: Diverse, innovative and individual – ramps for all occasions
Shopping – especially in city centers – can quickly turn from pleasure to frustration. Namely, when stores are only accessible via one or more steps. The French company Myd'l has a solution ready for every barrier in terms of accessibility – whether private or business. Successfully active in international business for 22 years, the manufacturer now also offers its products in Germany.
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Functionality meets design: the new adaptive sport equipment Spike
Activities aiming at occupational therapy and rehabilitation are boring? Not necessarily! A new assistive exercise and sports equipment named Spike is not only designed to be fun, but also suitable for everybody who wants to get and stay fit. How this works for whom and what kind of history connects Spike with REHACARE? We asked!
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Pro Walk: Overcoming foot drop one step at a time
Safe walking without tripping or falling is challenging for people with foot drop. Luckily there are technologies that provide active support by using functional electrical stimulation (FES). Pro Walk GmbH delivers these types of foot drop systems. How do these devices allow users to complete everyday tasks? REHACARE.com asked Nico Riedl, Product Manager and Physiotherapist at Pro Walk GmbH.
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REHADAT Gute Praxis: "Labor force participation requires targeted and personalized measures"
What are strategies for successful inclusion in the primary labor market? Many employers only have a vague idea of what this entails, revealing the importance of comprehensive and practical information. The new REHADAT Gute Praxis (English: Best Practice) portal aims to be their go-to resource – and includes 900 practical examples. Why are they especially useful? We asked...
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Fashion by MOB Industries: "Inclusion means to truly embrace all body types"
Fashion without barriers – that’s the mission of Viennese-based startup MOB Industries (German: Mode Ohne Barrieren, hence the abbreviation MOB). How has the coronavirus outbreak affected the company’s latest collection and how do functionality and aesthetics go hand in hand? REHACARE.com asked MOB founder and CEO Josefine Thom.
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Flexible, light and foldable - Mobility aids for people with disabilities
Therapy dog assisted learning helps building skills for life
A new UBC Okanagan study finds children not only reap the benefits of working with therapy dogs – they enjoy it too. "Dog lovers often have an assumption that canine-assisted interventions are going to be effective because other people are going to love dogs," says Nicole Harris, who conducted this research while a master's student in the School of Education.
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Fully supportive, yet mobile, splints
Around 80 percent of sports injuries are so-called musculoskeletal injuries, for example sprains, strains or overstretching. Conventional supports either do not provide enough stability or restrict the mobility of the joint too much. A research team from the Zoological Institute at Kiel University (CAU) has now developed a flexible joint splint that combines maximum mobility and optimal stability.
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Decubitus therapy systems developed by experts
Due to its special corporate and personnel policy, the Funke Medical AG is one of the leading German manufacturers of decubitus therapy systems. The medium-sized company is specialised in the development of medical foam products in the highest quality levels.
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Mobility: Securing wheelchairs better with new retractor system
AMF-Bruns manufactured the world’s first retractor 4-point system for wheelchairs and their occupants in the 1970s. At the beginning of 2021, the European market leader for wheelchair accessible vehicle conversions introduces a new generation of the PROTEKTOR occupant and wheelchair restraint system and sets a new standard in safety, design, and functionality.
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Communal activities boost rehabilitation for older adults
A group of researchers has developed a new program showing participation and activity is critical for the rehabilitation of older adults in long-term care.
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Prosthetic limb: Reconnecting muscle pairs gives more sensory feedback
MIT researchers have invented a new type of amputation surgery that can help amputees to better control their residual muscles and sense where their "phantom limb" is in space. This restored sense of proprioception should translate to better control of prosthetic limbs, as well as a reduction of limb pain, the researchers say.
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Improving sleep in visually impaired athletes
Sleep is very important for athletes, and sleep loss can affect physical performance and cognitive ability. But now, researchers from the University of Tsukuba have identified the prevalence of sleep disorders in visually impaired athletes, as well as specific risk factors associated with lower sleep quality.
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Inner ear disorder: Implant improves balance and movement
For about 1.8 million adults worldwide with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH), walking requires constant attention to avoid a fall. Now, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have shown that they can facilitate walking, relieve dizziness and improve quality of life in patients with BVH by surgically implanting a stimulator that electrically bypasses malfunctioning areas of the inner ear.
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Autism: Reducing biases may increase social inclusion
Efforts to improve the social success of autistic adolescents and adults have often focused on teaching them ways to hide the characteristics that define them as autistic. Psychology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas, however, have been focusing on another approach: promoting understanding and acceptance of autism among non-autistic people.
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Child head injury guidelines created
Australia's and New Zealand's first set of clinical guidelines for children's head injuries has been created by a network of specialists based at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI).
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Tactile books adapted for blind children
Blind children do not apprehend the world in the same way as their sighted counterparts. A research team from UNIGE and Université Lumière Lyon 2 have developed tactile books that are tailored specifically to their needs.
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Online competition for para-dancers
Para dancers from all over the world will have the opportunity to compete virtually this year when World Para Dance Sport launches the first Freestyle and Showdance Online Competition.
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Benefits of technical aids for senior citizens
Can interconnected digital assistance systems enhance the quality of life of people in older age? Scientists in an interdisciplinary research project at Heidelberg University are exploring this question in a representative practice study. The participating researchers want to investigate how well these technical aids can be used and what benefit they achieve.
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Exoskeleton training for stroke rehabilitation
A team of New Jersey researchers has demonstrated that high-dose therapy gait training using robotic exoskeletons may aid early rehabilitation for acute stroke.
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Tokyo 2020: IPC statement concerning Paralympic Games
Following media speculation about the cancellation of Tokyo 2020 which was triggered by an anonymous source offering personal views, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has made a statement: The IPC, IOC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and all delivery partners are fully committed and focussed on delivering safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer.
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Low-barrier palliative care for deaf people
Together with Achdorf Hospital, Landshut University of Applied Sciences wants to improve palliative care for deaf people.
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Using VR training to improve motor control
A researcher from Tohoku University has developed a new virtual reality (VR) based method that can benefit rehabilitation and sports training by increasing bodily awareness and improving motor control.
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Tapping the brain to boost stroke rehabilitation
Stroke survivors who had ceased to benefit from conventional rehabilitation gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by the patients' own brains.
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Cats may help decrease anxiety for kids with autism
Former school nurse Gretchen Carlisle would often interact with students with disabilities who took various medications or had seizures throughout the day. At some schools, the special education teacher would bring in dogs, guinea pigs and fish as a reward for good behavior. Carlisle noticed what a calming presence the pets seemed to be for the students with disabilities.
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Magnetic skin to support people with quadriplegia
A system that uses flexible, breathable magnetic skin allows people with severe quadriplegia to move around and choose their surroundings. Developed by KAUST researchers, the high-tech system relies on the user’s facial expressions to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, from moving down the street to using an elevator.
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New treatment for people with spinal cord injury
Using physical therapy combined with a noninvasive method of stimulating nerve cells in the spinal cord, University of Washington researchers helped six Seattle area participants regain some hand and arm mobility. That increased mobility lasted at least three to six months after treatment had ended.
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Participation for people with mobility impairments
The project "mobisaar – Mobility for everyone" has passed the acid test. The Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Transport has granted follow-up funding following a decision by the Saarland state parliament. For mobisaar, this means that regular operations will start in 2021.
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