Lecture no : 3

Rehabilitation Engineering

Mr. Muhammad Moazzam

Lecturer(Biomedical Department)
University of the Lahore

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Contents
• Introduction to rehabilitation
• History
• What is Rehabilitation Engineering?
• What do rehab engineers do?
• What is Assistive Technology?
• Research areas

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Introduction to rehabilitation
• Since the late 1970s, there has been major growth in
the application of technology to
ameliorate the problems faced by people with
disabilities.
• Various terms have been used to describe this sphere
of activity, including prosthetics/orthotics,
rehabilitation engineering, assistive technology,
assistive device design, rehabilitation technology,
and even biomedical engineering applied to disability.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Introduction to rehabilitation
• The two most frequently used terms today are
assistive technology and rehabilitation engineering.
Although they are used somewhat interchangeably,
they are not identical.
• Assistive technology can be viewed as a
product of rehabilitation engineering activities.
• Such a relationship is analogous to
health care being the product of the practice of
medicine.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 History

• Throughout history, people have sought to less the impact

of disabilities by using technology.
• After World War II in USA, Veterans Administration
(VA) realized the needs for the returning soldiers with
numerous and serious handicapping conditions.
• There were too few well-trained
artificial limb and brace technicians to meet the needs
of the returning soldiers.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 History

• To train these much-needed providers, the

federal government supported the
establishment of a number of prosthetic and
orthotic schools in the 1950s.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 History

• In the early 1960’s, another impetus to

rehabilitation engineering : birth defects
– Thalidomide adverse effect
– Broadened the target population of
assistive technology and rehabilitation
engineering
– Then, medical and technical
collaboration in research and
development produced
externally powered limbs for people A 1962 photo of baby born
with an extra appendage
of all sizes and genders. connected to the foot
caused by the pregnant
mother taking the drug
Thalidomide.
Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam
 History

• Passage of federal Rehabilitation Act of

1973:
– National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
– Rehabilitation Engineering
Centers (REC)

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 History
• Areas of RECs’ investigation:
– Prosthetics and orthotics
– Spinal cord injury
– Lower and upper limb functional electrical
stimulation (FES)
– Sensory aids for the blind and deaf
– Effects of pressure on tissue
– Rehabilitation robotics
– Technology transfer
– Personal licensed vehicles
– Accessible telecommunications
– Applications of wireless technology
– Vocational rehabilitation
 History

1980’s and 1990’s

◦ Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of
North America (RESNA) formation
◦ Increased role for Rehabilitation Engineering in service delivery
2000s
◦ Transition of service delivery role from design and fabrication
to integration, customization, performance analysis and
outcome measures

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 History

◦ Continue design and fabrication role in research and

development sector which includes manufacturing and
research
 The Title/Education/Certification of the
Rehabilitation Engineer
 Resources for the Rehabilitation Engineer
 Career Opportunities for the Rehabilitation Engineer

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

Source of Information
• Publications
– Archives of Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation
– Human Factors
– Annals of Biomedical
Engineering
– IEEE Transactions on
Biomedical Engineering
– Journal of Rehabilitation R&D
– Assistive Technology
– IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and
 Source of Information
IEEE - Engineering in Medicine and
Biology
◦ www.embs.org
◦ www.embs.org/docs/careerguide.pdf
Biomedical Engineering Society
◦ www.bmes.org

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

What is Rehabilitation Engineering?

• Rehabilitation engineering
– the application of science and technology to
improving the quality of life of people with
disabilities.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 What is Rehabilitation
Engineering?
Rehabilitation Engineering
Evaluation Research / Design
Treatment Testin
Re- g Fabrication
evaluation Rehabilitation Integration
Implementation Engineering Customer Support
Education Educatio
Training/ Trialing n Process
Research Optimization

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 What do rehab engineers do?
• Work in
– research lab
– Hospitals/ clinic
– industry (i.e. product development lab)
• Work with
– Clients and their families, teachers, employers
– Health care providers (MD, OT, PT, SLP)
• More clinical work than other engineering
fields
– Engineers must learn how to work with people with
disabilities

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive technology (AT):
products, devices or equipment … that are
used to maintain, increase or improve the
functional capabilities of individuals with
disabilities
Service Device

AT

Strategy Practice
Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam
 Assistive
Technology

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Research areas
Recreation
transportation

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Research areas
Seating and wheeled mobility Sensory aids (hearing, vision)

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Research areas

Universal design

The design of products and environments to be usable by all

people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for
adaptation or specialized design.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

 Prevalence of Disabling Conditions in the
United States
• 45–50 million persons have disabilities that slightly
limit their activities
32% hearing
21% sight
18% back or spine
16% leg and hip
5% arm and shoulder
4% speech
3% paralysis
1% limb amputation
Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam
 Prevalence of Disabling Conditions in
the United States
• 7–11 million persons have disabilities that significantly limit
their activities
30% back or spine
26% leg and hip
13% paralysis
9% hearing
8% sight
7% arm and shoulder
4% limb amputation
3% speech

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL

• The model is called the “PHAATE,” pronounced

fait, to incorporate policy,
human (person), activity, assistance, technology,
and environment
• People with disabilities (PWD) are affected by
public and often private/corporate policy.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL
• To underestimate the impact of policy on the design
and service delivery process is to risk denial of
reimbursement or even entry into the marketplace.
• Technology is used by PWD to
accomplish some task or to perform an activity.
• Activity is a key factor in determining
participation in society.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT (PHAATE)
MODEL

• People live in the “real world,” and the

environment impacts their functioning. It has been argued
that the environment is what determines if impairment
becomes a handicap.
• People perform activities in a
variety of environments, and this needs to be given due
consideration in the design, development, and service
delivery processes.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL

• Last, rehabilitation engineers focus on

technology for people, and any model would
be incomplete without these components.

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

POLICY, HUMAN, ACTIVITY, ASSISTANCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENT
(PHAATE) MODEL

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam

Questions?

Copy Right: Muhammad Moazzam