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3D Printing: How might it help disabled people?

3D Printing: How might it help disabled people?

3D Printed Products

3D Printed Products

3D printing is a revolutionary new development which has unfortunately been in the news for the wrong reasons. However when it’s looked at critically it can only be a positive move for the world’s technological and even medical industries. 3D printing can revolutionise the lives of millions of disabled people through some of its many applications.

3D: Printing the Future

The Science Museum, London has an ongoing exhibition – 3D: printing the future which looks at all the innovative ways of utilising this technology for the benefit of mankind. It showcases the power and versatility offered by 3D printing equipment and the collection includes over 600 printed objects. Some are little more than a bit of fun whilst others could genuinely be life changing.

This exhibition shows how innovative technologists and medical technicians are able to turn data into 3D printed objects which could have life changing impact. The exhibition focuses mainly on the future of modern industry, medicine and how 3D shopping could change your everyday shopping experience. Here we’re looking at some of the ways 3D printing is already being used for the benefit of people around the world.

3D Printing for Disabled People

BWyP3cJIAAA_tSjHundreds of disabled people have already been helped by 3D printed products. It has the potential to make the clinical, ugly assistive equipment more personalised and part of the person rather than an unmatched addition. This is only the beginning however and below we’re looking at the practical applications of 3D printing for disabled people.

3D Printed Prosthetics

The Nemours Biomedical Research facility at the Alfred duPoint Hospital for Children in Wilmington researched and developed a unique durable exoskeleton. This exoskeleton was made through 3D printing and it was able to be fitted to a child, Emma Lavelle, who had previously been unable to raise her arms or use her legs. As this video shows the WREX exoskeleton has revolutionised her life:

 

Further examples of the 3D printing of prosthetics can be found in Europe. An elderly woman was able to have her jaw replaced, based upon a 3D printed model of her lower mandible. The woman had unfortunately had her jaw removed due to an infection and was considered very high risk due to her age and related factors. The researchers from Belgium and Holland were able to utilise 3D printing to develop a unique jaw replacement for this lucky patient, who was able to speak and swallow normally within a single day of the operation.

3D Printed Organs

BWyOaFbIQAAsO_YThere are recorded cases where 3D printing has been used to print organs built from the patient’s own body cells. There is scope that this could revolutionise the organ donation network and whilst there are thousands of people waiting for donations another method of replacing organs really is much needed.

Using 3D printing a doctor at Wake Forest’s Regenerative Medicine Department (North Carolina) was able to develop artificial scaffolds in the shape of an organ with living cells. The department is now working towards developing printing equipment that can print these scaffolds and living cells simultaneously. The doctor in question, Dr Anthony Atala, has presented a TED Talk on the subject.

Other Applications

3D Printing

3D Printing for Facial Reconstruction

The benefits of 3D Printing for disabled people doesn’t necessarily have to be medical. There have been developments of an educational and entertainment based nature which strive towards inclusion. There have been developments of 3D printer equipment for mathematics and science study for the partially sighted, with graphs and data being accessible in a way that has never been possible before.

Equally others have been able to utilise 3D printing to build custom game controllers to support people living with physical disabilities and enhance their gaming experiences. Many different people have shown their home-developed game controllers simply through utilising 3D printing equipment and this is something which really could revolutionise people’s daily life.

There are 3D printed utensils designed to help people with fine motor difficulties and 3D printing is also allowing people who may not have been able to afford a prosthetic to build their own with the support of their families and friends.

BWyN3SlIAAATLIPTechnology can be harnessed to work towards inclusivity and with 3D printing gaining steam on a daily basis it’s clear it’s something everybody should take note of.

The Science Museum London’s insightful exhibition is accessible between 10am and 6pm every day, except over Christmas, until 15th June 2014. It gives you the chance to see this astounding technology in action and take a closer look at some of its applications.

Liverpool Mi Smarthouse

Liverpool Mi Smarthouse

Mi Smarthouse Kitchen Area

Mi Smarthouse Kitchen Area

At the Museum of Liverpool there’s a small, unassuming exhibition which looks like the recreation of a normal house. When you get inside you realise it has been setup with every possible gadget and gizmo to support independence. The Mi Smarthouse is a project put together by More Independent (Mi).

More Independent is a Government-funded initiative that is being piloted across four UK regions. As there website says the scheme exists to:

  • enable you to take charge of your health, wellbeing and lifestyle
  • use technology to allow you to feel safer and live more independently in your own home
  • give peace of mind to yourself and your family
  • reduce the amount of time you have to spend on appointments, by supporting you to manage better at home

The Mi Smarthouse at the museum is kitted out with a wide range of equipment covering all the key areas of the home. Here we’re taking a look at some of the gadgets they’ve highlighted and used in their perfect, accessible home.

General

These gadgets could be useful at any place in your home and can make it feel more safe and secure.

Fall Detector

Fall Detector

Fall Detector

A fall detector can be worn around your neck and it connected to a system which will alert your carer if you do fall even if they’re not on the premises.

Large Buttons Picture Telephone

Phone keypads can be hard to use and it can also be difficult to remember phone numbers. This phone has spaces for photographs of those people you call regularly as well as large, clear numbers for when you need to dial out.

Home Safety Alert

The Mi Smarthouse has a bonus caller panic button installed by the front door, giving the residents the chance to press the button if anyone arrives at the door who they’re not comfortable with. Similar home safety alarm system can be found elsewhere too.

Supra KeySafe

Supra KeySafe

Supra KeySafe

The Supra KeySafe is the UK’s first police approved key safe and is the perfect place to store your emergency keys. You choose a combination number and you can share this number only with somebody you trust implicitly.

Carbon Monoxide Sensor

Carbon monoxide can kill. It’s odourless and can’t be seen so the only way to sense it before it is too late is with a dedicated carbon monoxide sensor. Sensors can be easily installed and can save your life.

Fingerprint Lock

A fingerprint lock is a great option if you struggle with keys. You can add the details of your carer and friends as authorised ‘pad-pressers’ so they can get in and out with ease when necessary too.

Kitchen

We’ve talked regularly about the importance of gadgets to make access to the kitchen easier. It’s potentially a dangerous environment so anything to make it less so is a good invention in our book. In the Mi Smarthouse they demonstrated a range of kitchen-specific gadgets.

Talking Microwave

The controls on a microwave oven can be difficult if you have difficulties with your vision or dexterity. A Talking Microwave Oven can help guide you to the buttons you need and it will also tell you when the door is open or closed and let you know whether the food needs stirring or left to stand.

Induction Hob

An induction hob only cooks the pot upon it. There is next to no danger of being burned by it and they’re becoming a common installation in supported living environments to aid independence. This type of hob is also energy efficient and reaches top temperatures in record time. In the Mi House the hob was fitted but they can also be bought as separate electric units .

One cup Kettle

one-cup_kettleWe’ve talked before about how useful the one cup kettle can be. Never worry about spilling boiling water as the kettle will dispense the exact amount you need with the simple pressing of a button.

Entertainment and Living Area

Many of these items listed below could be used all around the house but are most useful when you’re relaxing in front of the TV or lounging on the sofa.

Big Switch and Remote

Big Switch Remote

Big Switch Remote

A Remote Control Big Switch can be positioned wherever you need it to avoid bending to switch off items which have plug sockets uncomfortably out of reach. The big switch can be used with any electrical appliance in the home.

Voice Recorder Switches

If speech has always been or is becoming difficult then these small voice recorder switches can be used to record key phrases. They can have messages such as ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I want to go home’ ready recorded for when you’re home or out and about when speech has become difficult.

Chair Occupancy Alert

This item is extremely useful if you have an outside care team supporting you as it allows them to monitor the time spent out of your chair. If it seems exceptionally long they may phone you or come around the check everything is OK.

Big Jack Controller

Big Jack Multi-Controller

Big Jack Multi-Controller

The Big Jack can replace all your smaller, fiddly remotes and switches. It can be programmes for a whole range of jobs and can be used to change channels on the TV, switch off lights and even use the telephone.

Personal Care

The personal care element of the home is the most private. Both the bedroom and bathroom are places where you want to maintain as much independence as possible and some of these gadgets are designed to guarantee this as well as ensure you can get the help you need, when you need it.

Epilepsy Sensor

Epilepsy Sensor

Epilepsy Sensor

Living with any form of epilepsy or convulsions can be extremely frightening – especially if you’re alone when one occurs. This epilepsy sensor will alert an outdoor care team if a seizure is taking place, allowing them to provide the right support ASAP.

Enuresis Sensor

Enuresis Sensor

Enuresis Sensor

Designed to fit comfortable under the top sheet, an enuresis sensor will alert your carer to the fight signs of dampness whilst in bed – ensuring you’re not left uncomfortable for a long period of time. We have looked at these aids previously for helping children but they can be equally useful later in life.

Flood Detector

A flood detector will guarantee you never forget about another bath. It’s very easy to forget the bath is running but with the installation of a simple detector, it will be safe and you can avoid the risks of damage to your home and the even higher risk of slipping.

The Mi Smarthouse in Liverpool is one of the first examples of how all this technology can come together and successfully be used to help people remain in their own homes independently. You can take a virtual tour of the Smarthouse here. We recently visited the £D printing exhibition at the London Science Museum and will cover the potential benefits in a future post.

Cool Crutches ideas, Stylish Canes and Glamorous Walking Sticks

Guest Post with some cool crutches ideas

from the excellent BlueBadgeStyle.com:

Trendy Mobility Aids: Sticks, Canes And Crutches For The Discerning Disabled

It can be really hard to find stylish mobility aids. It’s a real shame that so little attention is paid to making crutches and walking sticks that are a little bit more trendy. After all, these are pieces of equipment that people have to use all the time. They shouldn’t be stuck with something dull, clunky, noisy and grey.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of some of the more trendy mobility aids that we have found:

 

Skoe Crutch Wraps

Image is a photograph showing the top-half of four medical crutches, lay flat on a surface in a fan shape, each one in a different Skoe WrapA quick and simple way to glam-up your current crutches is to purchase a stylish Skoe Wrap – created from quality fabrics and available in three styles, the Skoe Wrap instantly adds personality to traditional, grey crutches! The “Midnight Sparkle” wrap is crafted from black sequins to add a little glamour for evenings out. The Skoe “Go Wild” Wrap is made from a plush, furry tiger-print fabric that is soft to the touch, and finally the “Dark Demin” Skoe Wrap is something a little more relaxed and casual, for days out or the weekend.

 

Sabi Walking Sticks

Image shows an array of 6 metallic-handled canes, stood upright in various bright colours, on a white background.

Cool coloured canes

These canes look really cool! They’re beautifully designed and look really vibrant and stylish. They come in a variety of colours and are apparently built to last a lifetime. They weigh 12-14 ounces and can support up to 250 pounds.

They’re made from a high-strength bicycle-grade aluminium shaft with a hooked birch wood handle. The handle widens in the right places and has a build in rubber strip to make it more comfortable and practical to hold. The shape of the handle also means that the user holds it directly above the tip which means they have increased stability.

The classic Sabi Cane costs around £59 plus shipping costs. They come in three sizes depending on the height of the user.

 

Image shows a dark-coloured cane with stylish, gunmetal hooked handle on a darkened background

Luxe Premium Cane from Sabi

As well as their standard cane, Sabi have created the Tuxedo – an all black version of their walking cane due to popular demand for a more formal mobility aid. It comes in luxury packaging and the birch handle is stained to make it darker and richer. According to their website: “It is the criminally gorgeous and brooding hero. It is the reflection of a love affair.” This might be a slight overstatement but, whether you agree with that or not, you have to agree it does look very good.

The Luxe Premium cane costs around £79.

 

Image shows 4 brightly-coloured canes (yellow, blue, pink and green) with stylised-hooked handles, upright but at various angles, on a white background.

All the Sabi canes look fantastic!

The final form of Sabi cane is their sports cane which is ostensibly for taking out on hikes and walks. The design is largely the same but  with a matte finish rather than the brighter effect of the standard model.

It’s a fair bit lighter, weighing 10-11 oz. and has a reflective logo, for walking at night. The handle is foam rather than birch wood which makes it more suitable for providing a secure hold on long walks but also makes it a little cheaper (£37-£59 plus shipping). It’s not quite as stylish as the standard cane but it is perhaps a little more practical for some people.

Sabi Sport Cane – £39.99

All the Sabi canes look fantastic and are really creatively designed. It shows that you can do interesting things when designing walking sticks!

 

 

Arbin Crutches

Arbin Crutches are great because they are so compact. They’re retractable, so when you are using them they can put aside taking up very little space. It removes the usual problem of your crutches getting in the way and making a unattractive mess, when they aren’t being used. These crutch’s handles slide down from the cuff and up the bottom slides up from the foot of the crutch to the small size of only 67 centimetres. Once folded in it can also be stood up on the handle making it easier to reach as well as being less noticeable. It’s really practical and stylish too!

Arbin crutches also look good when they are at their full height. They’re sleek and cool and they come in bronze or grey. They’re available in the UK at Chic Aid Crutches costing £184 including postage, packaging and VAT.

Graphic showing height adjustable arbin crutches - text reads:

Height adjustable Arbin Crutches

Folding arbin crutch shown standing upright, discreetly available next to his chair, whilst a man enjoys a date!

Arbin Crutches fold discretely away

 

Stylish Folding Walking Stick by Blue Badge Company

Image is a photograph of a bronze-coloured walking stick with wooden handle, folded neatly and placed upright on a windowsill next to a set of car keys Blue Badge Company have created a collection of tasteful, stylish walking sticks that are super-compact and folding in design. Created from the highest quality aluminium and featuring a Canadian Maple Wood handle, these walking sticks are abundant in character and class.
Available in three stand-out, smart colours that will appeal to all – bronze, navy and purple.
They can be quickly and easily folded-down for storage, and the compact design means they are small enough to carry in your handbag or carry bag.
Image is a photograph of a folded walking stick inside a William Morris-inspired print, hanging against a sandstone wallAlso available by the Blue Badge Company is a range of bags in a range of attractive prints, designed for keeping your walking stick to-hand, or allowing you to hang the stick on wheelchairs or hooks using the handy D-ring. Also ideal for keeping your handbag clean of debris and dirt that might gather on the walking stick if you chose to store it in your bag.

 

 

 

Luxury Blue Badge protectors can also be purchased in prints to match your walking stick bag.

Image is a photograph of a William Morris-inspired blue badge protector in packaging, against a white background

 

Glam Sticks

If you like bling and want to make a bit of a statement with your mobility aids then Glam Sticks is the place to go. In 2011 they were named Mobility Product of the Year. They take no prisoners with their designs – covering the sticks in diamante and sparkles – making everything extravagant and shiny. Glam Sticks look to provide glitz and glamour to go along with your style. They’re particularly good fun for evenings out, providing a bit of glamour to go along with your outfit.

Glittery crutch

Glam Sticks Kaleidoscope Crutch

Kaleidescope Crutch – £57.99

Glam Sticks come in a variety of models and designs with varying prices. The amount you pay is essentially based on how ostentatious you want your stick to be or how much bling you want on your crutches. A fairly basic, but stylish, crutch costs just over £3o. At the top end you can get a Swarovski encrusted walking cane – the ultimate decadent walking stick – for £224.99.

Walking stick with Swarovski crystals embedded

Swarovski Walking Stick – £224.99

Jesse J at a

Jesse J at MTV awards

 

 

 

Glam Sticks have picked up something of a following amongst injured celebrities, adding to their reputation for providing glitz and glamour. For instance, when Jessie J broke her leg last year, she wore a pair of Glam Sticks to the MTV Awards, giving her the required bling to accompany her style. These aids are great for providing a bit of luxury and sparkle, especially for a night out.

 

 

 

Cool Crutches

Cool Crutches offer people a range of crutches with fun, patterned designs. They also have a washable, removable neoprene squidgy grip which moulds to left and right hands and makes walking a lot more comfortable. They are possibly not quite as light and sleek as some of the other crutches we’ve featured but they are fun, colourful and, well, cool!


Most of the crutches cost £47.50 (not including VAT or shipping) but for £67.50 you can create your own custom design for them.

Image shows 5 different crutches lay flat on a white surface, in various designs including polka dot, gold, pink and leopard print.

Polka Dots from Cool Crutches

 

Ellipse Crutches 

Image shows 4 crutches, upright on a white background, in colours of black, green, blue, yellow and red

Nice Colour Range – £34.99

This range offers a good range of block colours which liven up the crutches without becoming too garish. This might be preferable to people who don’t want to make quite as much of a statement, with their crutches, as someone who’d go for a Glam Stick, for instance, but who want to add a splash of colour to them.

You can chose from a variety of main and secondary colours to accompany the black handle. This is good because it means you can design your own crutches to be as bright as you want.

They’re available at Chic Crutches and cost £34.99 (plus VAT and shipping)

 

 

 

Mobilegs

Mobilegs have created an interesting new design of crutch, using a ‘saddle’ instead of a the normal cuff at the crutch’s top. This is supposed to improve mobility, flexibility and comfort for users. They say that since it is so radically different, from traditional crutches, it can’t even be called a crutch but has been named a ‘mobi’.

Mobilegs are intelligently designed to help the user and really are quite different. They look a lot better than many traditional crutches too – certainly a lot sleeker, slimmer and less drab than NHS crutches. It’s also possible to get a ‘mobiskin’ to cover the shaft with a more distinct design.

The problem (and it’s quite a big one) is that Mobilegs are currently not available in the UK. When we got in touch with them they told us that they are still a relatively small start up company so they can only cater to the US market. However, since there might be ways around this, especially if you buy them online, we thought they were worth including. They cost $129 plus the (possibly substantial) cost of postage and shipping. We will keep you up to date should there be any change regarding UK distribution. Hopefully there will be soon!

Mobilegs Crutch has a bend in it

The Mobilegs Crutch looks unique!

 

mobility aids

 

Intelligent Design

So that’s the end of our list of trendy mobility aids. We’ve had a variety of styles, designs and prices in there. From Sabi to Glam Sticks – hopefully there should be something for everyone in there!

If you know of any other trendy mobility aids on the market please get in touch with BlueBadgeStyle or leave a comment below

This post first appeared on BlueBadgeStyle.com

Once you have your cool crutch or glam walking stick you may also be interested in this neat gadget for holding sticks or crutches together. Check out this post on the Bridgit Crutch Holder

UPDATE : Strictly Judge shows off diamante encrusted crutches

BBC Strictly Come Dancing fans may have spotted judge Craig Revel Horwood with some glitzy crutches, apparently they are actually diamante encrusted.  He had major hip surgery and rehabilitation therapy at King Edward VII Hospital in London.

 

Crutches made cool: Craig dazzled with diamante encrusted crutch on Monday night's 'It Takes Two' with Zoe BallIce Cool Crutches: the diamante encrusted crutch showed off by Craig on ‘It Takes Two’ with Zoe Ball

 

Razzle Dazzle: Craig is attempting to transform the image of the humble crutch with his diamante number Craig is not the only person who wants to be seen with some stylish crutches. Copyright images : BBC

 

Craig Revel Gorgeous: The Strictly judge proudly showed off his new accessory on Sunday night's show