One in three nursing home residents who have Alzheimer's disease are not getting their vision corrected so they can see clearly, according to new Saint Louis University research in the July issue of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association...

Vision problems make it difficult for a person to function and can aggravate symptoms of dementia, Koch said. "The loss of visual stimulation may cause disorientation, limit a patient's mobility and increase the risk of falls. Everyday activities such as reading or watching television may also be difficult. These patients may become so sensory deprived that they are virtually shut off from the outside world."

Some of us at MedGadget can anecdotally report that the few moments after waking but before donning glasses are indeed the most disorienting of the day.

More from Dr. James Koch's published abstract...

The "smart" brace is fitted with a tiny chip, which continuously monitors the position of the ankle.

If the chip detects a roll that is greater than normal, it begins to vibrate.

The vibrations send a signal to the brain that the person needs to change the position of their foot or shift their balance in order to avoid a fall.

More at Stanford's Biodesign Innovation Program...

(hat tip: Engadget)

This is how the technology works:

Bone is made up of two materials, the hard mineral phase and the rubbery collagen organic phase. Current Bone Mineral Density (BMD) tests only identify problems in the mineral phase caused by loss of bone mass. The BQT measures the chemical properties (microarchitecture) of a subject's fingernails, which is a predictor of bone quality. Sulphur plays a major role in maintaining the development of the body's proteins by forming flexible disulphide bonds between certain amino acids and is required for the strength of both nail and bone.

The microarchitecture is an excellent analogue for bone quality due to the similarity of keratin in the fingernail and type I collagen in bone, both are used for structural strength. The BQT assesses the state of trabecular bone rather than cortical bone which is responsible for structure, cortical bone is responsible for bone mass...

Crescent Diagnostic's Bone Quality Test, BQT uses Raman spectroscopy to analyse the human fingernail and diagnose osteoporosis. This technique uses a laser beam which is shone on the fingernail for a few seconds. The reflected light provides information on the chemical structure of the bonds in the fingernail.

By analysing the wavelengths of the reflected light, information on the level and types of chemical bonds present can be obtained. This information is then used to provide the diagnosis.

More at Crescent Diagnostics...

Flashback: accuDEXA®

The UPI reports on a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, showning that "a new gait-stabilizing device for footwear reduces the risk of injurious falls during winter months for older, fall-prone adults..."

Company's description of the device:

The Yaktrax Walker is designed for people who are looking for an easy-to-use, lightweight traction device for their shoes. The Walker is the original version of Yaktrax and is ideal for pedestrians, the elderly, business people or anyone who want greater stability on ice and snow. Use the Yaktrax Walker while walking to and from work, school or just to the mailbox.

The Walker is made out of an injection molded thermal plastic elastomer designed for easy on and off. The coils are protected against rusting and hand-wound to give you 360 degrees of traction on ice and snow. When you walk in the Yaktrax Walker, every step you take places hundreds of biting edges in direct contact with the ice beneath your feet. Yaktrax can be worn in temperatures as low as -41 degrees farenheit.

The patented design of the Walker makes it a unique solution to walking on packed snow and ice. The outerband conforms to the length and width of your boot or shoe. The high strength horizontal coils provide forward and backward stability. The vertical coil pattern provide side-to-side stability.

Yaktrax® Walker website...

By wearing a unique weighted back support device and participating in a special exercise program, women over 60 with osteoporosis-caused curvature of the spine improved their balance and experienced diminished back pain, giving researchers at Mayo Clinic a promising therapy to reduce falls among this population...

Within four weeks in the study, the researchers noted significant changes in balance and gait. They also recorded back extensor strength improvements and significant decrease in back pain. Mayo Clinic researchers present their findings in the July 2005 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings...

At the start of the four-week comparison period, the two groups exhibited significant differences, but as the women with curvature of the spine continued the program, they showed improvements in balance, gait and back pain. The women used a weighted kypho-orthosis (WKO), a specially weighted back support device that centers its weight on the posterior of the spine and helps the person center her body better over her legs. It can weigh between 1.75 and 2.5 pounds, centered below the shoulder blades. A patient's doctor determines the best weighting and placement of the device.

The press release...

Mayo Clinic Proceedings website...

During development, CIRCA was tested on 40 dementia sufferers in daycare, nursing home and family situations. The results were very encouraging, with many carers reporting that sufferers seemed like their 'old self'. CIRCA exploits the fact that, while dementia sufferers find it hard to recall recent events, longer-term memory is less affected by their condition...

Dr. Arlene Astell of the University of St Andrews School of Psychology is leading the research team. Dr Astell says: "Dementia sufferers' declining ability to hold normal conversations causes a lot of stress and frustration. Helping them access their memories will make living with dementia more bearable and less distressing for sufferers and their carers."

There's more on how the system works, plus some touching case studies, at the EPS research website...

Wahlberg's accident left him paralyzed from his chest down. Now, he has a new, four-wheeling kind of wheelchair that lets him travel through sand, grass, gravel and up stairs.

The amazing, freeing new device is called the 'Independence iBOT 3000 Mobility System'. Dr. Jenine Speier is the Medical Director at Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Center in Minneapolis and is the first doctor in the area to receive the iBOT.

"We have a lot of patients from rural areas where they don't have paved sidewalks. I think it's a tremendous resource, so I do think it will be used."

...Sister Kenny has ten people on the waiting list for an iBOT mobility device. It is listed as a class three medical device, requiring a doctor's prescription.

Perhaps part of the delay is because of this:

Physicians and other health professionals must undergo special training to prescribe the iBOT. The chair must be calibrated to the patient's weight, and patients have to be trained in its use and pass physical, cognitive and perception tests to prove they can operate it safely.

Also, it costs $25,000.

More on iBOT at Johnson & Johnson's Independence site...

Toshiba Corporation is developing a robotic "life support partner" for the elderly and for children. Toshiba has announced that...

... the company closer to its concept of a "life support partner"--a sophisticated robot able to deliver human-centric technologies that provide assistance and support the elderly and young children in the home and in such public places as shopping complexes. One advance enables a robot to distinguish particular voices from among many from multiple directions, and recognize the direction of origin, and interact with the speakers by responding to a repertoire of commands. The other allows a robot to recognize a registered individual and to follow that individual from place to place, even among groups of people. Toshiba has developed two separate robots to showcase the new technologies and will demonstrate their capabilities at AICHI EXPO's "Prototype Robot Exhibition," at the Morizo and Kiccoro Exhibition Center from June 9 to June 19, 2005.

To read more, go here.

The product is going to be distributed in the US by Clinical Technology Advisors, an Acton, Massachusetts company.

Clinical Technology Advisors website...

By the time an object, or an apartment, or a company hits the half-century mark, it's usually been through a redesign or two. Yet the standard-issue amber-cast pharmacy pill bottle has remained virtually unchanged since it was pressed into service after the second World War. (A child-safety cap was added in the seventies.) An overhaul is finally coming, courtesy of Deborah Adler, a 29-year-old graphic designer whose ClearRx prescription-packaging system debuts at Target pharmacies May 1.

Adler grew up in a family of doctors in Chappaqua, New York, but escaped medicine for an M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts. She was inspired to return, at least tangentially, after her grandmother Helen accidentally swallowed pills meant for her husband, Herman. The drugstore prescription bottle, it occurred to Adler, is not just unattractive, it's actually dangerous. Statistics back her up: According to a recent poll conducted for Target, 60 percent of prescription-drug users have taken medication incorrectly.

For her SVA thesis project, called Safe Rx, Adler revamped the familiar canister, then approached the FDA-but one of Target's creative directors saw her work last summer, snapped up the patent, and rolled it out in record time. It's already approaching design-classic status: ClearRx will be included in a MoMA exhibit this October. Your medicine cabinet is next.

Adler's simplest, smartest innovation was to put the name and dose of the medication front and center. But like other good designs, every feature of this pill container has been well thought-out. Future plans include a sliding magnification lens, and a big red X that will slowly appear as the meds expire.

The ClearRx debuts May 1 at Target.

(Hat tip: Follow Me Here)