How Technology is Helping Those who are Disabled

There’s no doubt that the pace of technological advancement has never been more pronounced, with this trend borne out and reinforced every single day.

Last year saw the development of the world’s first bionic exoskeleton, which has been described as a “legged Segway” and one that helped American Lyle Fleming to walk for the first time in six years towards the end of 2019.

However, there are numerous ways in which technology is helping individuals who struggle with physical and mental disabilities. Here are some examples to keep in mind:

1 The Rise of Mobility Solutions

Perhaps the best example comes in the form of mobility solutions, which include a vast array of products aimed at helping disabled individuals to live a normal and independent life.

Firms such as Mobility Solutions offer a number of these products, including everything from scooters and wheelchairs to specialised footwear and equipment for bathrooms.

Most of these products have been inspired by technology, while they all provide direct and practical assistance to people in the course of their everyday lives.

Firms of this type also offer home delivery, assembly and ongoing support to all customers, and this may prove crucial if you’re recently disabled and trying to get to grips with your brand new reality.

2 The Emergence of Next Generation Hearing Aids

If you’re hard of hearing, you may well have noticed considerable innovation in the development of aids and cochlear implants in recent years.

While cochlear implants may not be anything new, however, researchers at Columbia University in New York are currently working on a “cognitive hearing aid” which is capable of monitoring the brain activity of users while simultaneously contributing to a crucial everyday function.

There are significant benefits to this, as measuring the brain activity of users enables them to identify the precise voice that they’re listening to in real-time.

It then works by magnifying audio while also minimising any surrounding noise levels, allowing for better hearing in all circumstances.

3 Creating Technology That Allows Computers to be Controlled by the Eyes

While conditions such as motor neurone disease are vanishingly rare (this particular condition affects approximately 400,000 people worldwide), they remain largely impervious to modern medicine.

Conditions such as motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis (which affects 2.3 million globally) can also cause debilitating physical symptoms.

However, innovation and technological advancement is helping to uncover new ways of helping sufferers, with the US brand LC Technologies having recently invented a device that allows people to control a computer using just their eyes.

This represents a ground-breaking innovation in terms of how motor neurone sufferers in particular can communicate with others, and in this respect, it lays the foundation for them to enjoy a superior standard of living as they grow older.