tech and health - medical and assistive devices

Question 1

medical device

Answer 1

supporting and maintaining life/ body function (quantity of life)

Question 2

assistive technology

Answer 2

enhancing wellbeing, make people feel better (quality of life)

maintain or improve functional abilities (ex. magnifier on computer to see better)

Question 3

medical devices are applied in:

Answer 3

1. life support (ventilator)
2. substitution for body structure and function (pacemaker, prosthetics and orthotics)
3. medical treatment (injections)
4. measurement (glucose monitor, fMRI)

Question 4

Food and Drug Act (1985)

Answer 4

“device” = gadget that is sold or used for:
- diagnosis/ treatment
- restoring and correcting
- diagnosis of pregnancy (ultrasound)
- care of human beings or animals during pregnancy and after birth including care of offspring
includes contraceptive device but not drug

Question 5

what is an assistive technology (WHO)

Answer 5

WHO - systems and services related to delivery of assistive products and services

assistive products maintain or improve function and independence, promoting wellbeing (walker, shoe horn

Question 6

assistive technology includes: assistive devices

Answer 6

gadgets that are applied to or directly manipulated by a person (wheelchair, hearing aid)

Question 7

assistive technology includes: special equipment

Answer 7

ATTACHMENTS to original structure of physical environment (hand rails, stair glides)

Question 8

assistive technology includes: structural alterations

Answer 8

CHANGES to original structure of physical environment (widening doors of house)

Question 9

assistive technology includes: material adjustment

Answer 9

ALTERATIONS to NONPERMANENT features of physical environment (removing rug, adjusting lighting) OT

Question 10

assistive technology includes: environmentally-based behavioural modification

Answer 10

changes to ones INTERACTION with physical environment (conserving energy and segmenting tasks) OT

Question 11

medical devices vs assistive devices

Answer 11

medical - gives us platform
assistive - allows operation at higher level and lets us do what we want to do

Question 12

assistive devices are for PERFORMING ACTIVITIES through:

Answer 12

1. self support (powered wheelchair)
2. support from others (toilet and bath transfer devices)

Question 13

assistive devices are for ENHANCING PARTICIPATION IN SOCIETY through:

Answer 13

1. work (adapted computer workstation)
2. recreation (adapted sports equipment, closed captioned films)

Question 14

assistive devices in the future

Answer 14

they will do the same things but faster and more efficiently

the rest of young people will continue as the same because they don’t have issues yet

Question 15

how do assistive devices work

Answer 15

• people with mobility limitations without their mobility assistive device have a LOW MOBILITY COMPETENCE (ability)
• the effect of a wheelchair increases their competence (ability)
• but when environment has STRONG PRESS (barriers) they won’t be able to function well and will have poor QoL even though they have high competence
• in environments with WEAKER PRESS they can function better and still demonstrate their competence and better QoL
  (but NOT NO PRESS, because we still want to demonstrate our competenece)

technology alone does not solve the problem

Question 16

health disparities

Answer 16

preventable differences in ways to achieve optimal health, experienced by socially disadvantaged populations

older people: greater length of disability, greater difficulty achieving optimal health –> ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES may be a solution because FUNCTION determined optimal health!!!

Question 17

ethical issues

Answer 17

autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice

• wireless pendant as a wander alert every 10 seconds for high and low risk pts:
  monitoring whereabouts with tracking device?
  privacy intrusion, “tagging”?
  users discriminated against?