Page 18 - Mobility Management, August 2019

ATP Series
IMAGINING NEW POSSIBILITIES
Driving Control Innovations
Put Independent Mobility Within Greater Reach
By Laurie Watanabe
In 1844, French writer Alexandre Dumas published The Count
of Monte Cristo, a literary classic with themes of determination, justice and freedom. In the book, Dumas described a man “in an arm-chair, which moved upon casters.” Though the man could only move his eyes, Dumas noted he greeted visitors “with a quick and intelligent expression” and was able to communicate because his “speaking eye sufficed for all.”
Today, we know this condition as Locked-In syndrome, caused by severe brain injury, such as a brainstem stroke or infection. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients can become locked in; they remain cognitively intact and aware, but are only able to move their eyes.
Noirtier, the man in Dumas’s novel, was wheeled around by caregivers. But had he been a real client today, Noirtier might wheel himself around, in a power chair driven via a new genera- tion of alternative driving controls.
A Time of Breakthroughs
Lisa Rotelli is Director for Adaptive Switch Laboratories, which creates and manufactures a wide range of alternative driving controls.
“I think this is a very exciting time,” Rotelli said. “I believe
there’s a lot of moving forward with technology, which is wonderful. Technology is being developed for patients with weakness disorders, like ALS or SMA [spinal muscular atrophy]. Obviously, eye gaze is becoming more and more relevant. But there are still needs, in my opinion, that are not being met.”
In fact, while Rotelli is a fan of eye-gaze technology — “I like eye gaze and I think it’s wonderful” — she believes it’s critical for clients to stay connected to their technology even when they’re not in their power chairs.
Certain alternative driving controls, Rotelli said, “can be very environmentally dependent. The patient that is down to just being able to use eye control or something like that has a lot
of needs that need addressing. That person needs to be able to change their position often, and it’s really important for them to be able to do that — even to be able to drive better sometimes because the camera’s in a better range. They also need access to technology, and how are they getting that access?”
Gabriel Romero, VP of Sales & Marketing for Stealth Products, which designs and manufactures alternative driving controls, is also excited about advances in technology.
“It’s awesome to see technology all around us changing,” Romero said. “It’s even better to see more manufacturers finding
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