[HN Gopher] Smart watches could do more for wheelchair users
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Smart watches could do more for wheelchair users
Author : colinprince
Score : 29 points
Date : 2020-09-05 11:59 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (fivethirtyeight.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (fivethirtyeight.com)
| serf wrote:
| as a wheelchair user myself, i'd like to bring up a point that is
| glossed over, but not sufficiently highlighted in this article.
|
| Wheelchair push count is not as valuable a metric as the
| geometry/ergometry of the push itself.
|
| Wheelchair related RSI is not usually a matter of volume, it's
| usually caused by one of many factors that can cause a wheelchair
| users' push geometry to change for the worse.
|
| Underinflated tires, underinflated seat cushion that changes
| overall torso height in the seat, poorly adjusted wheelchair,
| wheelchairs that haven't been re-fit for the user in a very long
| time (this is common in the U.S., as many wheelchair users stick
| with the unit given to them out of the hospital for a long time,
| decades even, due to insurance/healthcare woes) -- these are all
| factors that are a greater contributor to push-related RSI than
| anything measurable by sheer counting.
|
| So : wheelchair push count is a nice feature for athletes and
| training-tracking -- but chair ergonomics is a _much_ more
| important health issue; if these devices are being pushed outside
| athletic circles I think they should spend a good chunk of time
| studying and considering the problems of ergonomics and how to
| track those kind of metrics over time.
|
| bar napkin idea : pay attention to the push duration rather than
| the push volume. per-push-duration could give hints on things
| like underinflated tires -- the 'wind-up' motion that begets the
| push will take longer due to the increased energy expenditure.
|
| P.S.
|
| somewhat ironically, using a manual push wheelchair that is set
| up in an 'athletic' profile at all (maybe lots of camber, or
| maybe lots of seat 'dump' in the build) almost always prohibits
| the user from wearing anything on their wrist without continually
| bashing it into the hand-rim during their power stroke.
|
| Watches/bracelets/bangles are , in my experience, a very uncommon
| fashion accessory for manual wheelchair users for that reason --
| especially those of which have impaired neurological movement in
| their hands; folks with those kinds of issues generally push the
| handrim with the side of their wrist due to a lack of grip --
| right where a watch would sit normally.
| throwaway316943 wrote:
| What about elder care? Don't fall detection and monitoring
| changes in blood pressure or heart rate that may lead to a fall.
| Not sure why these aren't standard kit for all seniors homes.
| crooked-v wrote:
| The next version of the Apple Watch is also probably going to
| include blood oxygen level monitoring with the ability to alert
| users if it drops below a healthy level, similar to the
| existing min/max heart rate alerts.
|
| Though, really, I think the biggest benefit of wearables
| expanding into this space is that they're not 'old people
| products' like Life Alert. A generally healthy 60-year-old
| person who doesn't want to 'seem old' is going to be far more
| comfortable wearing an Apple Watch or similar device, and far
| more likely to do so consistently.
| Palomides wrote:
| because anything that serves a medical purpose immediately
| enters a labyrinth of regulation and liability
|
| a company that isn't already doing medical devices will be
| extremely hesitant in approaching any of that
| abawany wrote:
| The lack of fall detection in smartwatches other that AW4+ is a
| bit baffling. Garmin has an implementation but it only works
| during activities and not generally afaik. I got the AW4 for a
| parent primarily for the fall detection.
| walshemj wrote:
| Not sure SW can do BP monitoring yet otherwise hospitals would
| have switched to them for doing patient OBS.
|
| That's the regular checking of BP /Pulse temps etc done in
| hospitals if our on 4h getting woken in the middle of the night
| sucks.
| marc__1 wrote:
| It will likely be a combination of HW and SW. Apple is
| constantly filling patents that are related to that. See for
| instance:
|
| http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-
| Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=H...
| Broken_Hippo wrote:
| Perhaps this is good for someone that is generally healthy and
| perhaps for folks that stay in assisted living (not sure what
| the qualifacations are). We'd need more information, though:
| How often do changes in blood pressure lead to falls compared
| to other causes? Is it worth the cost and does it save more
| lives than other sorts of alerts?
|
| This certainly isn't a good fit for a nursing home. First off,
| you have general health issues, like thinning skin that tears
| and cuts easily paired with folks that are in declining health
| and may or may not have good control of their limbs.
| Psychological issues and things like dementia is going to make
| this more difficult as well. One horrible scenario is finding
| the device covered in feces, since some folks, as their minds
| degrade, handle their own feces. And I'd hate to have to fight
| with someone daily to put the device on (other folks won't
| care).Of course, if your nursing home is staffed well with
| folks that do their jobs, it probably won't make a difference.
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