5 Ways Technology Is Helping Disabled People

Technology has come a long way, even going so far as to give a new lease of life to disabled individuals with new breakthroughs. We list five ways how technology has helped individuals with disabilities.

Being Able To Drive Without Using Their Feet

Thanks to Google’s and Tesla’s efforts to bring driverless car tech to the public, individuals that suffer from physical disabilities regarding mobility will no longer suffer while travelling from one location to the other. Keep in mind that if driverless cars are going to enter Pakistan, then some cleverly designed software is going to have to be made in order to tackle the remaining traffic surrounding you, and strengthening the traffic rules is going to be quite a big hurdle to scale.

Wearables That Help Patients Keep Check On Their Health

Google announced that it was working on smart eye lenses that would help patients identify their blood glucose level, thus monitor their sugar levels. This is definitely helpful for the elderly since taking a small blood sample and then measuring their blood glucose over and over again is extremely time-consuming.

Being Able To Replicate Bones Through 3D Printing

Using 3D printers, researchers at Washington State University were able to develop a hybrid material that has the same strength and flexibility as a real bone. This material can effortlessly be placed in order to replace or repair a damaged part of the human skeleton system. Most people will definitely agree that 3D printing has a long way to go before it can replace actual bone, which is why for now, these 3D models are just going to be used in order to repair the damaged part. After that part of the human body has been completely healed, the model disintegrates. While this is extremely beneficial for millions of patients and people who have to repair their damaged bones, we are certain that in the near future, the actual bone replacement will be taking place without having the 3D model to disappear.

Gadgets That Can Help Visually-Impaired People Regain Sight

Previously, visually impaired people had to rely on instincts alone in order to move to and fro. Now, with the help of smart glasses, individuals will have a chance at a second life by helping regain their lost vision. Once such gadget that helps in making this possible is the Assisted Vision Smart Glasses. Dr. Stephen Hicks from the University of Oxford explains how this works:

“What we’re trying to do with the project is produce a pair of glasses that can enable someone who has got little sight to allow them to walk around unfamiliar places, to recognize obstacles, and to get a greater independence.“

The vast majority of blind people have some remaining sight, and these smart glasses can be tuned to make the most of it. They are constructed using transparent OLED displays, two small cameras, a gyroscope, a compass, a GPS unit, and a headphone. The incoming data can be processed and then used in various ways, for example, brightness, which can be used to show the distance between them and a particular object. Most visually impaired are able to differentiate between light and dark, and these glasses are able to help discern people and obstacles.

Exoskeletons Can Help People Gain Movement Once Again

While originally, exoskeletons were being developed for military personnel in order to tackle battle related situations, they can also help citizens gain back their lost movements or overcome muscle atrophy. While we did state above that 3D printed bones can help to repair broken bones, healing bones can take a significantly long period. Attaching the exoskeleton to the human can be done in mere weeks whereas the process of healing bones could’ve actually taken months. However, this approach is quite expensive and should only be used once the military personnel have been discharged from duty.

Looking at the five ways how technology has helped (or is going to help) disabled people, it looks like more advancements are on their way to help citizens live their lives a little more comfortably.



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