Got any durable medical equipment and assistive technology to donate?

The South Carolina Assistive Technology Project through collaboration with Walton Options for Independent Living, has become part of the Southeastern Technology Access and Reuse Network (STAR), a regional initiative committed to finding alternatives to disposal of used durable medical equipment and assistive technology no longer being used by the original owner.

The goal of this collaboration is to provide South Carolinians and South Carolina's organizations with opportunities to access assistive technology and durable medical equipment through the redistribution of used equipment that has been sanitized, checked for safety, and repaired for appropriate use.

Walton Options will be collecting donated equipment from partner sites in selected cities throughout South Carolina and then preparing it for redistribution to persons who need the equipment.

Donated items such as wheelchairs, tub benches, hospital beds, hoyer lifts, cctv’s, rolling walkers, lift chairs, cell phones, and specialized assistive technology such as communication boards, cctv’s, amplified hearing devices are all needed to build the equipment supply.

Please call Anita Howard or James Sparks at 1-877-821-8400 or email equipmentdepot@waltonoptions.org to get information on where you may drop off donations.

More information about requests for used equipment and pickup routes will be coming in the future.

MRI Scans Can Predict Effects Of Multiple Sclerosis Flare-ups On Optic Nerve

ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2008) — One of the most pernicious aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) — its sheer unpredictability — may finally be starting to yield to advanced medical imaging techniques.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report online in the journal Neurology that an approach known as magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allowed them to estimate three months in advance the chronic effects of inflammation of the optic nerve. The condition occurs most often as a result of MS, a neurodegenerative disorder that can present with an extremely broad variety of symptoms that range from vision loss and other sensory damage to muscle weakness, spasticity or paralysis to depression, sleep loss or incontinence. MS affects an estimated 500,000 Americans.

"We see this as part of a battery of tests we hope to give patients within the next decade to help our clinical assessment and tailor it to an optimal treatment," says lead author Robert T. Naismith, M.D., assistant professor of neurology and a staff physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "It may also help further refine our basic understanding of MS in terms of expanding our insights into where and how damage occurs and why it can affect patients differently."

NOTE: To read the entire article, click on the title above.

SC Assistive Technology Expo 2009

South Carolina Assistive Technology Expo 2009


Wednesday, March 11, 2009

9 am – 4 pm

Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

Columbia, South Carolina

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

NO PRE-REGISTRATION NECESSARY


Exhibits and workshops about the latest assistive

technology for people with disabilities and age-related limitations.


Check the Expo Web page regularly for updates!


http://www.sc.edu/scatp/atexpo09.html

Amputees Can Experience Prosthetic Hand As Their Own

ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2008) — Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University in Sweden have succeeded in inducing people with an amputated arm to experience a prosthetic rubber hand as belonging to their own body. The results can lead to the development of a new type of touch-sensitive prosthetic hands.

The illusion of having a rubber hand was achieved by the scientists by touching the stump of the amputated arm out of sight of the subject while simultaneously touching the rubber hand in full view of the same subject. This created the illusion that the sensory input was coming from the prosthetic hand rather than from the stump, and that the hand belonged to the subject’s own body.

The effect was confirmed by the subjects’ own descriptions of the experience and by their tendency to point to the hand when asked to localise the point of stimulation. That they experienced the rubber hand as their own was also substantiated physiologically in that they started to sweat when the hand was pricked with a needle.
The study, which was carried out at the Red Cross hospital in Stockholm, opens up new opportunities for developing prosthetic hands that can be experienced by wearers as belonging to their own bodies, which would be a great benefit to patients and which is considered an important objective in applied neuroscience.

To view entire article, please click on the title above.

New Classification Of Spinal Deformity Defines Range Of Normalcy

ScienceDaily (Dec. 10, 2008) — A University of Cincinnati (UC) neurosurgeon who has spent his career helping people with severe spine problems stand up straight has spearheaded the creation of a new spinal deformity classification system. The system, published this fall in the journal Neurosurgery, defines deformity in relation to the healthy, normal curve of the spine.

“What we’ve done is define spinal deformity and its manifestations throughout the course of a lifetime, based on a systematic approach to the spine, from the head to the pelvis,” says Charles Kuntz IV, MD, an associate professor in UC’s neurosurgery department and director of the division of spine and peripheral nerve surgery at the UC Neuroscience Institute. “Defining deformity with this degree of precision allows us to provide optimal treatment.”

Kuntz, who practices at the Mayfield Clinic, and his co-authors defined spinal deformity by synthesizing published literature that describes normal neutral upright spinal alignment in asymptomatic juvenile, adolescent, adult and geriatric volunteers.

To view entire article, please click on the title above.

Discovery Of A Debilitating Genetic Syndrome

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2008) — Canadian researchers announce the discovery of MEDNIK Syndrome, a debilitating genetic syndrome. A research team led by Dr. Patrick Cossette, from the Université de Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and Associate Professor, Université de Montréal (U de M), has demonstrated that this syndrome is caused by a newly found mutation in the AP1S1 gene.

MEDNIK syndrome was discovered in a group of families in Quebec from the Kamouraska region, sharing a common ancestor, suspected from clinical manifestations showing striking similarities to those of a similar syndrome. Caused by a mutation in the AP1S1 gene, this syndrome is characterized by mental retardation, enteropathy, deafness, and peripheral neuropathy, ichthyosis, and keratodermia (MEDNIK).

''Our observations strongly suggest that MEDNIK Syndrome is caused by impaired development of various neural networks, including the spinal chord (ataxia and neuropathy), the inner ear (sensorineural deafness) and possibly the brain (microcephaly and psychomotor retardation)," notes Dr. Cossette. ''Disruption of the AP1S1 gene in humans may be associated with more widespread perturbation in the development of various organs, including the gut and the skin.

To view the entire article, please click on the title above.

Dec 11 Grandcare Systems Training

Thursday, December 11, 2008
An Introduction to GrandCare Systems
9:00am – 11:00am
Assistive Technology Resource Room, Midlands Center, Columbia

Presenter: Stacey Pierce, Director of Home Services, The Oaks, Orangeburg, SC

There is huge demand for an enabling technology for our decreasing numbers of caregivers. In a series of focus groups with people age 50-65, the Center for Aging Services Technologies found that most participants are seeking a technology that allows them and their parents more freedom and the ability to stay independent. The study showed that those nearing retirement want technology that can enrich communication, alleviate the challenges of daily life and preserve social connectedness.

This presentation will show how GrandCare Systems explores a new frontier in technology using the Internet, the senior’s television to communicate and wireless sensors to monitor wellness, motion, temperature, door, blood pressure cuff, weight scale, and more.

The breakthrough technology allows family and caregivers to virtually connect with loved ones by sending pictures, videos, reminders, emails, calendar appointments, messages and news/weather updates directly to a private channel on the loved one’s television. The loved one needs no technical knowledge to enjoy this new GC “Communication Station”. Meanwhile, various smart sensors placed around the home can assure family members that their loved one is comfortable, happy, healthy and truly independent at home. The rules are easily set up online and customized to the loved one’s lifestyle. GrandCare leaves the caregivers (who know the loved one best) 100% in charge, with no third party interference.

With this system, family and other caregivers can be wholly involved in the care of loved ones, whether they live across the street or across the country. The training is in the Assistive Technology Resource and Demonstration Center so no food or drink please.

Cost: Free! This class has a maximum of 18 participants.
To register for this presentation:

Option 1: Complete the online registration form at http://www.sc.edu/scatp/forms/trainingregform12-11-08.html
Option 2: Email Sally Young at Sally.Young@uscmed.sc.edu
Option 3: Call Sally Young at (803) 935-5263 or 800-915-4522.
Option 4: Fax your registration information to (803) 935-5342. Please include your name, organization, address, email address, phone.

Seizure Meds Can Be Safely Withdrawn From Kids With Epilepsy

MONDAY, Dec. 8 (HealthDay News) -- It's generally safe to stop giving anti-seizure medication to children with epilepsy who've achieved seizure-freedom while on the medication, because these children aren't at high risk of later developing intractable epilepsy, a Mayo Clinic study finds.

Intractable epilepsy, which affects about 10 percent of children with epilepsy, is a condition in which medications alone don't control seizures and in which seizures have a disabling effect on the patient's quality of life.

"It is often recommended that children with epilepsy who become seizure-free on anti-seizure medications be withdrawn from the drugs to avoid side effects of long-term use. Those potential side effects include cognitive slowing, incoordination, weight change, behavioral decline, and liver damage," pediatric neurologist Dr. Katherine Nickels said in a Mayo news release. "However, few previous studies had examined the risk of intractable epilepsy following withdrawal of anti-seizure medication, and the reported risks varied widely."

To view this complete article, please click the title above.

Discovery Of A Debilitating Genetic Syndrome

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2008) — Canadian researchers announce the discovery of MEDNIK Syndrome, a debilitating genetic syndrome. A research team led by Dr. Patrick Cossette, from the Université de Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) and Associate Professor, Université de Montréal (U de M), has demonstrated that this syndrome is caused by a newly found mutation in the AP1S1 gene.

MEDNIK syndrome was discovered in a group of families in Quebec from the Kamouraska region, sharing a common ancestor, suspected from clinical manifestations showing striking similarities to those of a similar syndrome. Caused by a mutation in the AP1S1 gene, this syndrome is characterized by mental retardation, enteropathy, deafness, and peripheral neuropathy, ichthyosis, and keratodermia (MEDNIK).

To view this complete article, please click the title above.

Robotic Technology Improves Stroke Rehabilitation

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2008) — Research scientists using a novel, hand-operated robotic device and functional MRI (fMRI) have found that chronic stroke patients can be rehabilitated, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). This is the first study using fMRI to map the brain in order to track stroke rehabilitation.

"We have shown that the brain has the ability to regain function through rehabilitative exercises following a stroke," said A. Aria Tzika, Ph.D., director of the NMR Surgical Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Shriners Burn Institute and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "We have learned that the brain is malleable, even six months or more after a stroke, which is a longer period of time than previously thought."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and a principal cause of severe long-term disability. Approximately 700,000 strokes occur annually in the U.S., and 80 percent to 90 percent of stroke survivors have motor weakness.

To view the entire article, please click on the link above.

Vaccine Against Multiple Sclerosis? Mouse Experiment Yields Promising Results

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2008) — Some 80,000 people in Germany suffer from multiple sclerosis – their immune system attacks and destroys healthy nerve tissue. Researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have succeeded in vaccinating mice with specially treated, autologous immune cells and preventing them from developing encephalitis, which is similar to multiple sclerosis in humans.

A protein of the nervous system, that is the target of the harmful immune reaction in multiple sclerosis, was placed on the surface of the cells; the cells were treated with an agent that suppresses immune defense.

The Heidelberg researchers have published their results, initially online, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

To view this complete article, please click the title above.

Researchers Call For Fragile X Testing Throughout The Lifespan

ScienceDaily (Dec. 3, 2008) — Writing recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute researchers urge physicians to test for mutations of the fragile X gene in patients of all ages. That's because, after decades of research, it is clear that mutations in this gene cause a range of diseases, including neurodevelopmental delays and autism in children, infertility in women and neurodegenerative disease in older adults.

"We want to notify specialists in a variety of areas, as well as allied health professionals, of the potential impact of the fragile X mutation at different times in patients' lives," said Randi Hagerman, director of the Fragile X Research and Treatment Center at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute.

Hagerman, who is also the institute's medical director, co-authored the commentary with fellow M.I.N.D. Institute researcher and husband, Paul Hagerman, who is also director of the UC Davis NeuroTherapeutics Research Institute (NTRI).

To view this complete article, please click the title above.

MRI Machines May Damage Cochlear Implants

ScienceDaily (Dec. 1, 2008) — Patients with cochlear implants may want to steer clear of certain magnetic imaging devices, such as 3T MRI machines, because the machines can demagnetize the patient's implant, according to new research published in the December 2008 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

A cochlear implant is an electronic device that restores partial hearing to the deaf. It is surgically implanted in the inner ear and activated by a device worn outside the ear. Unlike a hearing aid, it does not make sound louder or clearer. Instead, the device bypasses damaged parts of the auditory system and directly stimulates the nerve of hearing, allowing individuals who are profoundly hearing impaired to receive sound. It is estimated that more than 100,000 people have cochlear implants.

To view this entire article, please click on the title above.

Virtual Ears And The Cocktail Party Effect

ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2008) — Oxford University research has helped understanding of the so-called ‘cocktail party effect’ – how our brains develop the ability to pinpoint and focus on particular sounds among a background of noise.

The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, has implications for the emergence of hearing abilities in children and for restoring hearing after fitting hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Humans begin to develop their hearing at a very early stage. Even a 28 week old foetus will respond to sound, and newborn infants can distinguish different types of speech sound. Our hearing continues to develop throughout childhood, including the ability to distinguish between sounds coming from different directions and to understand speech in difficult acoustic environments, such as a busy room with many echoes.

To view this complete article, please click the title above.

Study Shows Families' Financial Strain from Autism

CHICAGO – More than half a million U.S. children have autism with costly health care needs that often put an unprecedented financial strain on their families, national data show.

Compared with parents whose youngsters have chronic health care needs but not autism, those with autistic children are three times more likely to have to quit their jobs or reduce work hours to care for their kids. They pay more for their kids' health needs, spend more time providing or arranging for that care, and are more likely to have money difficulties, the study found.

"This is the first national survey that looked at the impact on families of having kids with special health care needs," said lead author Michael Kogan, a researcher with the government's Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

The results are from a nationally representative 2005-06 survey of nearly 40,000 children with special health care needs. These children have a broad range of chronic conditions, including physical and mental illness, requiring more extensive than usual medical care.

To view this entire article, please click the title above.

Scans Show Sound-Processing Deficits in Autistic Kids

MONDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Children with autism spectrum disorder process sounds a fraction of a second slower than other children, an abnormality that offers insight into listening and language issues linked to the condition, a new study says.

Researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which records minute magnetic fields associated with electrical brain activity, to detect the slight delay in autistic children who were exposed to beeps, tones in pairs, vowels and sentences at different speeds, tones and frequencies.

The findings were expected to be presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), in Chicago.

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