Mobile Arm Supports: History, Application, and Work in Progress
By Landsberger, Samuel, ScD; Leung, Pierre, MSME; Vargas, Vicente, BS; Shaperman, Julie, MSPH, OTR, FAOTA; Baumgarten, Jane, BS, OTR; Yasuda, Y. Lynn, MSEd, OTR/L, FAOTA; Sumi, Eunice, OTR; McNeal, Donald, PhD; Waters, Robert, MD; Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 74-94Publication Date: Fall 2005
Article presents a history of the development and application of mobile arm supports (MAS) for people with upper limb impairments. Mobile arm supports are mechanical devices that support the weight of the arm and provide assistance during shoulder and elbow motions through linkage of low friction joints. The devices allow users to achieve a degree of success with daily functions, including tabletop activities, self-feeding, grooming, and wheelchair control. Despite these benefits, application of the device has been limited for a number of reasons, including its outdated and unattractive design, inadequate therapist training, shortened inpatient rehabilitation stays, difficulty in adjusting the devices to meet user needs, and limitations in usage such as poor doorway clearance and obstacle avoidance. Researchers at the Rancho Los Amigo Rehabilitation Engineering Program have developed new designs to address many of these challenges, which has resulted in a new user-friendly model. The new MAS is more attractive, user friendly in setup and adjustment, low profile, rugged, low maintenance, and reasonable in cost. Implications for device usage among people with spinal cord injuries are discussed.
Published by: Thomas Land Publishers, Inc. (Website:http://www.thomasland.com)
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J49703
