Introduction and purpose for these pages
Millions of humans have some needs for devices that offer assistance or support for seeing, hearing, movement of all kinds, and more. There are more and more technologies offered that can help, but too often finding an appropriate and affordable solution is very difficult for potential users and their care givers or support persons. This page is intended to help provide that support by including what Appropedia Users think of as the best assistive devices, for every kind of need for people in their living situations.
Listings here should be understood to be offered with the idea that others might find the information useful. Every reader should be checking for themselves and their colleagues, to make sure that each device or technology is going to be useful for any family member, friend, or acquaintance who might be in need of any assisted living function. Listing here does not imply endorsement by Appropedia. Each listing is offered by the contributors with the idea that these pages might eventually help many others to quickly and easily find the best opportunities for us to help one another, in the spirit of community building.
Assisted living topics[edit | edit source]
The plan here is to generate a comprehesive list of topics, and then create one page per topic (or, small group of topics), into which users can include information about best available practices, techniques, and technologies, and mini-case-studies about how their use is helping. This is a preliminary list of topics. Please add more details. Also, for those practices, techniques, and technologies that are applied at the larger scale of neighborhoods, villages, cities, and regions, please check for similar ideas listed as Adapting Communities for All Abilities.
Breath and breathing[edit | edit source]
- For people who need supplemental Oxygen.
- Open source oxygen generator.
- For exercising lungs and breathing:
- Breathe book.
- O-pep devices
- more
Hearing and audiology[edit | edit source]
- Doorbells for hearing impaired
- Over the counter hearing aids
- Hearing Aid Innovations:
- https://www.halcyonhouse.org/venture/deaftronics-pty-ltd/ -- Solar powered battery charging for long-long lasting hearing aid batteries.
- Cell-phone apps for hearing impaired
- CaptionCall (free use in U.S.)
- Landline telephone instruments for hearing impaired
- Visual conversation transcribing using cell phones, tablets, and computers
- See Hear app for iPhone and iOS devices
- Google Live Transcribe for android devices
Indoor movement (sitting, standing, sleeping, etc.)[edit | edit source]
- CallToU company. https://www.calltou.com/
- Step2Health company. https://step2health.com/
- Step2Bed: movable/adjustable bed rails for those who need help with getting out of bed. Adjustable-height step stool with LED light, for fall prevention. A portable medical step stool comes with grab-bars, making it easy and safer to get into and out of bed.
- Step2Tub: similar system for entering and exiting bathtubs.
Vehicular Transportation (link to Transportation page)[edit | edit source]
Temporary placeholder: to move to adaptive transportation pages, for categories about all vehicle types. Personal/individual options belong on this page, and neighborhood, village, community, city, and regional options belong here: Adapting Communities for All Abilities.
- BraunAbility company manufactures multiple types of automobile and van adaptations for people of varying physical ability, including wheelchair ramps for entering multiple vehicle types, plus seats that swivel, lower, raise to help people with limited strength and climbing ability to enter into cars. Devices are customized for each vehicle brand and model. https://www.braunability.com/us/en.html Other companies make similar kinds of vehicle adaptations. We will need, eventually, criteria for determining which companies shall be included or excluded from listings, and to ensure fairness in listings.
- “kneeling” buses
- Segway wheelchairs.
- Many more.
Vision and sight[edit | edit source]
Resources[edit | edit source]
- This company is working on general medical care equipment. https://www.halcyonhouse.org/venture/biodesign-innovation-labs/
