Smart technology takes many forms. It can be a
network of systems connected to the Internet that
can turn up the thermostat at your command and
suggest a good movie. It can be a robot vacuum that
sweeps up autonomously.

In the Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) industry, more
systems are being created to help people with disabilities
to work smarter, not harder. These systems can adjust to
changing levels of ability, or can provide insight to help
a seating and mobility team make the most informed
decisions possible.

Visualizer & Augmented Reality: Picture This

When Sunrise Medical launched its Nitrum ultralightweight
wheelchair earlier this year, it also introduced two technologies
for the evaluation process. The 3D Visualizer
enables clinicians, suppliers and consumers to spec out
a Nitrum online and see the effects of choices such as
frame angle, rear wheels, and colors. Augmented Reality
visually “places” the Nitrum in real-world settings, such as
the bathroom or hallway of a consumer’s home.

Angie Kiger, M.Ed., CTRS, ATP/SMS, Clinical Strategy & Education Manager for Sunrise Medical, appreciates the
ability to see what a newly spec’d Nitrum will look like.

“I know it sounds really basic to someone from the
clinical side of things, but colors and how a chair looks
is typically one of the top things on the priority list of the
consumer,” Kiger said.

“Even if their supplier has a demo chair, they’re using
maybe a two-inch color swatch. From a consumer
standpoint, it’s helpful to be able to imagine the whole
color or, if you have the opportunity, the colors on some
of the parts of the chair. You could get different highlighted
pieces, like the casters can be a different color.
If you’re working with a teenager and the parent says, ‘I
don’t think those two colors will look good together, is that
what you really want?’ — you put them side by side, red
and pink hypothetically. It may sound fun to do an apple
green color, but when you look at the whole thing and
you think about the clothes that you wear, maybe it’s not
such a fun idea.”

When it comes to technical specs, the Visualizer can
be helpful to both consumers and seating professionals.
Kiger recalled meeting with several long-time wheelchair
users: “All three were very, very married to their setup:
‘This is what I like, this is what I do, don’t change a thing.’

“I asked, ‘When was the last time you went to be seen
by a clinician?’ [One] gentleman said, ‘I don’t want
them changing things up.’ So I delved into ‘Have you
had increased pain? Are you noticing that your legs
are a little bit tighter?’ Maybe if we change the angle of
your seat frame, you would be able to accomplish your
goals a little bit better. He said, ‘I hate to admit it, but my
legs are getting a little bit tighter over the years. I need
to have potentially a different angle, but I don’t want to
make the chair enormous.’”

Seeing how the chair would look could help. “A few
degrees makes a difference, but if you could see it [via
the Visualizer], then maybe it would be less abrasive,”
Kiger said. “‘Oh, that’s what 5° looks like? That’s not that
big a deal.’ The clinician knows that’s going to make a
big deal in the feel, but the person who’s looking at the
chair as a consumer is going to say ‘Okay, I can do that.’
Or ‘Nope, that’s too much, I don’t want to do that.’”

Sunrise’s new Augmented Reality takes the next step
by virtually placing the Nitrum in real locations. “For me,
the advantage to Augmented Reality is — it’s not going
to be the exact size, but it’s pretty darn close, if you’re
concerned about how bulky something is going to be,
or just how it’s going to look in a normal environment,”
Kiger said. “Amazon has been doing that for a while, and
it helps me make decisions. It’s just an added bonus to
visualize what something’s going to look like in the real
world. It makes things less scary.”

The hope is that these tools will eliminate surprises
upon delivery. “The therapist’s heart drops and the
supplier’s heart drops when the [consumer] says, ‘Oh,
that’s not what I imagined it would look like,’” Kiger said.
“It’s not a consumer product where you can just say, ‘It’s
okay, we’ll just exchange it.’ In ultralight wheelchairs,
the aluminum has been bent specifically for the angle
of that individual. It’s not easy to just swap things out. So
being able to visualize and understand it is huge.”

Abilitech Assist: Promoting Dignity & Independence

Described as an orthotic with shoulder assist, the
Abilitech Assist is akin to an exoskeleton for upper extremities.
It assists with flexion and extension of the elbow and
shoulder to facilitate a range of mobility-related activities
of daily living, including self-feeding and grooming.
Angie Conley, CEO of Abilitech, said of the Assist’s journey, “We have had a goal for the last five years
[of] working with clinicians and potential users every
week, helping to design a device that’s meaningful. It is
intuitive to use. One of the things that’s important about
our technology is that it is spring based, and the motors
tension the springs. The patient is able to move their
arms much like they would in a swimming pool because
it’s gravity balanced, and their arms feel weightless.”

Conley added, “We go beyond the physical impact of
helping people with activities of daily living. [The Assist
facilitates] choosing when to eat and what to eat and
when to drink and what to drink. We have a physical
impact, we have a social-emotional impact. It’s setting
their environment up so they can live more fully and
engage more fully and more independently. We strive
to have an economic impact, to offset those costs of
needing help all the time.”

Abilitech is beginning its sales outreach by working
with “centers of excellence,” including facilities specializing
in muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, ALS, spinal
cord injury, and spinal muscular atrophy. Conley said
clinicians have asked if the Assist could improve function
over time by building strength: “When you enter a rehab
population, which will include spinal cord injury and
stroke, we believe there
is an opportunity — we
do need to study it. So
we haven’t made any
claims, because we
have not studied it. Our
clinicians go there right
away: Within the first
two minutes, they think,
‘This is great for my
stroke patients. Moving with intention and repetition will
facilitate the neuroplastic healing, and these people are
going to get stronger.’”

While the Assist hasn’t yet been used to self propel a
wheelchair, the possibilities seem robust. “We’re excited
to report that we are commercially available,” Conley
said. “We are listed with the FDA, so we are ready and
able to help people right now. We have our own sales
force that we are developing right now, and we are
targeting centers of excellence that have high volume.”

As for funding, Conley said she believes reimbursement
as an orthotic will be available: “We will launch
with a miscellaneous code, but we can demonstrate
efficacy in the very first fitting.”