Happy Birthday O.J. Brigance!!
O.J. Brigance played for the Ravens when they won Super Bowl XXXV and later took
a position with the team as Senior Advisor to Player Development.
In 2007, O.J.
was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and has since founded the Brigance
Brigade Foundation, whose goal it is to improve the quality of life for ALS
patients and their families. While dealing with the debilitating disease and
growing his foundation, O.J. still goes to work with the Ravens four days a
week.
To honor O.J. and celebrate his birthday, the Brigance Brigade is
hosting an ‘online birthday party’ where friends, fans, and supporters can post
birthday wishes and, if inclined, make donations to the Brigance Brigade
Foundation. The goal behind the online celebration is to engage O.J.’s many fans
and supporters and give them a platform to communicate with O.J.. Donations made
to the site will be used to help improve the quality of life for other ALS
patients and their families through equipment and support services that they
otherwise could not afford. The site fans can visit is: http://www.gofundme.com/BriganceBrigade
Alisa Brownlee, ATP, CAPS blog offers recent articles and web information on ALS, assistive technology--augmentative alternative communication (AAC), computer access, and other electronic devices that can impact and improve the quality of life for people with ALS. Email--abrownlee@alsa-national.org. Any views or opinions presented on this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the ALS Association.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Preparedness Tips for Those Bracing for Hurricane Isaac
The National Council on Disability
(NCD) has been involved in emergency preparedness, disaster management, and
recovery since 2003. As a part our ongoing efforts, NCD is distributing the
following information regarding response to Hurricane Isaac by FEMA’s Office of
Disability Integration and Coordination as the category 1 hurricane heads toward
New Orleans and the Louisiana coast. Isaac is expected to make landfall Tuesday
night.
FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination has been organizing their response to Hurricane Isaac with state partners across the Gulf of Mexico. Please see below for a brief summary of the federal response to Hurricane Isaac as of 7pm Tuesday August 28, 2012:
• On Monday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and National Hurricane Director Dr. Rick Knabb briefed President Obama about the storm track and preparations underway to support communities that may be impacted by the storm.
• FEMA maintains strategically-located commodities at all times, including millions of liters of water, and a similar amount of meals and blankets, at distribution centers throughout the United States and its territories to support potential state requests for assistance.
•In advance of the storm, FEMA proactively deployed Incident Management Assistance Teams to state emergency operations centers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. Additional teams are ready to be mobilized as needed and requested.
In addition, FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination recommends the following preparedness actions for those in the watch and warning areas of Hurricane Isaac:
•FEMA urges residents in the southeastern states to monitor your NOAA Weather Radio and local news stations for updates and severe weather warnings. Communities should remain alert and take all required actions resulting from local evacuation orders, high wind warnings, and identified flood risks, including flash flood warnings.
• State and local officials make the decisions to issue evacuation orders so residents should follow all instructions from local emergency management officials.
• If your area is ordered to evacuate, be sure to know your evacuation route in advance and have a plan for where you will stay.
• Prepare your family, home, or business now to lessen the impact of severe weather. Review your ‘go kit’ to make sure you have your home and personal insurance information as well as the latest prescriptions or medical supplies you or your family members may need. Identify a location to meet up with family and friends should you become separated or need to move to a local emergency shelter.
• Now is a good time to fill up your vehicles with gas and get cash from the ATM in case these resources become unavailable after the storm due to power loss. If you have pets, check with local officials as to which shelters accept animals and prepare supplies to bring as needed.
• Please visit http://www.ready.gov (Listo.gov para español) to learn more about the simple steps you can take to be prepared.
Coastal and inland residents in areas that may be affected by the storm should familiarize themselves with tornado hazard terminology.
• A Tornado Watch means tornadoes are possible. Stay alert for storms, watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.
• A Tornado Warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.
• If a tornado is possible in your area, go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Do not open windows.
• Remember flooding, and especially flash flooding, are a major risk during tropical weather and small mistakes can lead to deadly results.
Never drive your car through standing water or around emergency barricades, and do not try to walk through more than two inches of running water.
• Power outages and flooding that can result from weather emergencies can compromise the safety of stored food, plan ahead to minimize the risk of food-borne illness.
• A closed refrigerator will keep food safely for about four hours and a closed, full freezer can keep food safe about 48 hours.
• Remember for meat, poultry, fish and eggs, “when in doubt, throw it out.” Have a cooler on hand to keep refrigerator food cold in case of power outage, and grouping food together in the freezer; this helps the food stay cold longer.
Additional food safety preparedness tips can be found at USDA Food Safety Inspection Service’s website http://www.fsis.usda.gov
If you have any questions about this advisory, please contact FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination at: fema-disability-integration-coordination@dhs.gov
Additional Resources:
Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs (American Red Cross) http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240199_A4497.pdf
Prepare For Emergencies Now: Information For People With Disabilities (Ready.gov) http://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/PrinterFriendly_Disabilities_1.pdf
Video (captioned): Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Other Access and Functional Needs (FEMA)http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/7028
Posted for the
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2004 Voice
Website: http://www.ncd.gov
Get regular updates via NCD’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NCDgov
Follow NCD on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NatCounDis
Sign up for regular email updates at: http://www.ncd.gov/subscribe
FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination has been organizing their response to Hurricane Isaac with state partners across the Gulf of Mexico. Please see below for a brief summary of the federal response to Hurricane Isaac as of 7pm Tuesday August 28, 2012:
• On Monday, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate and National Hurricane Director Dr. Rick Knabb briefed President Obama about the storm track and preparations underway to support communities that may be impacted by the storm.
• FEMA maintains strategically-located commodities at all times, including millions of liters of water, and a similar amount of meals and blankets, at distribution centers throughout the United States and its territories to support potential state requests for assistance.
•In advance of the storm, FEMA proactively deployed Incident Management Assistance Teams to state emergency operations centers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida. Additional teams are ready to be mobilized as needed and requested.
In addition, FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination recommends the following preparedness actions for those in the watch and warning areas of Hurricane Isaac:
•FEMA urges residents in the southeastern states to monitor your NOAA Weather Radio and local news stations for updates and severe weather warnings. Communities should remain alert and take all required actions resulting from local evacuation orders, high wind warnings, and identified flood risks, including flash flood warnings.
• State and local officials make the decisions to issue evacuation orders so residents should follow all instructions from local emergency management officials.
• If your area is ordered to evacuate, be sure to know your evacuation route in advance and have a plan for where you will stay.
• Prepare your family, home, or business now to lessen the impact of severe weather. Review your ‘go kit’ to make sure you have your home and personal insurance information as well as the latest prescriptions or medical supplies you or your family members may need. Identify a location to meet up with family and friends should you become separated or need to move to a local emergency shelter.
• Now is a good time to fill up your vehicles with gas and get cash from the ATM in case these resources become unavailable after the storm due to power loss. If you have pets, check with local officials as to which shelters accept animals and prepare supplies to bring as needed.
• Please visit http://www.ready.gov (Listo.gov para español) to learn more about the simple steps you can take to be prepared.
Coastal and inland residents in areas that may be affected by the storm should familiarize themselves with tornado hazard terminology.
• A Tornado Watch means tornadoes are possible. Stay alert for storms, watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.
• A Tornado Warning means a tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.
• If a tornado is possible in your area, go to a pre-designated shelter area such as a safe room, basement, storm cellar, or the lowest building level. If there is no basement, go to the center of an interior room on the lowest level (closet, interior hallway) away from corners, windows, doors, and outside walls. Do not open windows.
• Remember flooding, and especially flash flooding, are a major risk during tropical weather and small mistakes can lead to deadly results.
Never drive your car through standing water or around emergency barricades, and do not try to walk through more than two inches of running water.
• Power outages and flooding that can result from weather emergencies can compromise the safety of stored food, plan ahead to minimize the risk of food-borne illness.
• A closed refrigerator will keep food safely for about four hours and a closed, full freezer can keep food safe about 48 hours.
• Remember for meat, poultry, fish and eggs, “when in doubt, throw it out.” Have a cooler on hand to keep refrigerator food cold in case of power outage, and grouping food together in the freezer; this helps the food stay cold longer.
Additional food safety preparedness tips can be found at USDA Food Safety Inspection Service’s website http://www.fsis.usda.gov
If you have any questions about this advisory, please contact FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination at: fema-disability-integration-coordination@dhs.gov
Additional Resources:
Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and other Special Needs (American Red Cross) http://www.redcross.org/images/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m4240199_A4497.pdf
Prepare For Emergencies Now: Information For People With Disabilities (Ready.gov) http://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/PrinterFriendly_Disabilities_1.pdf
Video (captioned): Preparing Makes Sense for People with Disabilities and Other Access and Functional Needs (FEMA)http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/7028
Posted for the
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2004 Voice
Website: http://www.ncd.gov
Get regular updates via NCD’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NCDgov
Follow NCD on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NatCounDis
Sign up for regular email updates at: http://www.ncd.gov/subscribe
This Simple Touchscreen Device Might Be Grandpa's Next Computer
From: Wireless Design & Development - 08/13/2012
Seattle-based Pure Devices has launched a Kickstarter campaign in support of
a new tabletop touchscreen device that streams data and applications from the
cloud to a simplified user interface.
The company is hoping that the device, which allows users to email, shop,
access subscriptions, ebooks, movies, TV and more, will especially appeal to
the senior market, who may not be as comfortable operating today's computers.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.wirelessdesignmag.com/ShowPR.html?PUBCODE=055&ACCT=0000100&ISSUE=1208&RELTYPE=IN&PRODCODE=000000&PRODLETT=BP
http://www.geekwire.com/2012/pure-devices-launches-kickstarter-campaign-fund-touchscreen-device/
Links:
Pure Devices
http://www.puredevices.com/
The Pure Device: A Simple Way to Stay Connected (with video 4:58)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/puredevices/the-pure-device-a-simple-way-to-stay-connected
Friday, August 24, 2012
Using an App as Prescribed
From: The New York Times - 08/19/2012
By: Joshua Brustein
Before long, your doctor may be telling you to download two apps and call her
in the morning.
Smartphone apps already fill the roles of television remotes, bike
speedometers and flashlights. Soon they may also act as medical devices,
helping patients monitor their heart rate or manage their diabetes, and be
paid for by insurance.
The idea of medically prescribed apps excites some people in the health care
industry, who see them as a starting point for even more sophisticated
applications that might otherwise never be built.
Read the entire article at:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/technology/coming-next-doctors-prescribing-apps-to-patients.html
Links:
Happtiquehttp://www.happtique.com/
WellDochttp://www.welldoc.com/
New Mobile App Aims to Monitor Diabeteshttp://www.welldoc.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=BIlRqU6iupU%3d&tabid=104
Continua Health Alliancehttp://www.continuaalliance.org/index.html
Coming Soon: Artificial Limbs Controlled by Thoughts
From: Scientific American - 08/21/2012
By: Miguel A. Nicolelis
The idea that paralyzed people might one day control their limbs just by
thinking is no longer a Hollywood-style fantasy
Brain waves can now control the functioning of computer cursors, robotic arms
and, soon, an entire suit: an exoskeleton that will allow a paraplegic to
walk and maybe even move gracefully.
Sending signals from the brain's outer rindlike cortex to initiate movement
in the exoskeleton represents the state of the art for a number of
bioelectrical technologies perfected in recent years.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will serve as a proving ground for a
brain-controlled exoskeleton if, as expected, a handicapped teenager delivers
the ceremonial opening kick.
Read the entire article at:http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=artificial-limbs-controlled-by-thought
Links:
First Steps toward a Robotic Leg Suit for Paraplegics (with video 3:08)http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=exoskeleton-first-steps-towards-robotic-leg-suit-for-paraplegics
Mind Out of Body: Controlling Machines with Thoughthttp://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mind-out-of-body
NicolelisLabhttp://www.nicolelislab.net/
Computing with Neural Ensembleshttp://www.neuro.duke.edu/faculty/nicolelis/
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
New study uncovers brain's code for pronouncing vowels
August 21, 2012 in Neuroscience Scientists have unraveled how our brain cells encode the pronunciation of individual vowels in speech. The discovery could lead to new technology that verbalizes the unspoken words of people paralyzed by injury or disease.
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uncovers-brain-code-pronouncing-vowels.html#jCp
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at 21, British physicist Stephen Hawking, now 70, relies on a computerized device to speak. Engineers are investigating the use of brainwaves to create a new form of communication for Hawking and other people suffering from paralysis. -
Daily Mail Scientists at UCLA and the Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology, have unraveled how our brain cells encode the pronunciation of individual vowels in speech. Published in the Aug. 21 edition of Nature Communications, the discovery could lead to new technology that verbalizes the unspoken words of people paralyzed by injury or disease. "We know that brain cells fire in a predictable way before we move our bodies," explained Dr. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We hypothesized that neurons would also react differently when we pronounce specific sounds. If so, we may one day be able to decode these unique patterns of activity in the brain and translate them into speech."
Fried and Technion's Ariel Tankus, formerly a postdoctoral researcher in Fried's lab, followed 11 UCLA epilepsy patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. The researchers recorded neuron activity as the patients uttered one of five vowels or syllables containing the vowels.
With Technion's Shy Shoham, the team studied how the neurons encoded vowel articulation at both the single-cell and collective level. The scientists found two areas—the superior temporal gyrus and a region in the medial frontal lobe—that housed neurons related to speech and attuned to vowels. The encoding in these sites, however, unfolded very differently.
Neurons in the superior temporal gyrus responded to all vowels, although at different rates of firing. In contrast, neurons that fired exclusively for only one or two vowels were located in the medial frontal region. "Single neuron activity in the medial frontal lobe corresponded to the encoding of specific vowels," said Fried. "The neuron would fire only when a particular vowel was spoken, but not other vowels."
At the collective level, neurons' encoding of vowels in the superior temporal gyrus reflected the anatomy that made speech possible–specifically, the tongue's position inside the mouth. "Once we understand the neuronal code underlying speech, we can work backwards from brain-cell activity to decipher speech," said Fried. "This suggests an exciting possibility for people who are physically unable to speak. In the future, we may be able to construct neuro-prosthetic devices or brain-machine interfaces that decode a person's neuronal firing patterns and enable the person to communicate."
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uncovers-brain-code-pronouncing-vowels.html#jCp
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uncovers-brain-code-pronouncing-vowels.html#jCp
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at 21, British physicist Stephen Hawking, now 70, relies on a computerized device to speak. Engineers are investigating the use of brainwaves to create a new form of communication for Hawking and other people suffering from paralysis. -
Daily Mail Scientists at UCLA and the Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology, have unraveled how our brain cells encode the pronunciation of individual vowels in speech. Published in the Aug. 21 edition of Nature Communications, the discovery could lead to new technology that verbalizes the unspoken words of people paralyzed by injury or disease. "We know that brain cells fire in a predictable way before we move our bodies," explained Dr. Itzhak Fried, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "We hypothesized that neurons would also react differently when we pronounce specific sounds. If so, we may one day be able to decode these unique patterns of activity in the brain and translate them into speech."
Fried and Technion's Ariel Tankus, formerly a postdoctoral researcher in Fried's lab, followed 11 UCLA epilepsy patients who had electrodes implanted in their brains to pinpoint the origin of their seizures. The researchers recorded neuron activity as the patients uttered one of five vowels or syllables containing the vowels.
With Technion's Shy Shoham, the team studied how the neurons encoded vowel articulation at both the single-cell and collective level. The scientists found two areas—the superior temporal gyrus and a region in the medial frontal lobe—that housed neurons related to speech and attuned to vowels. The encoding in these sites, however, unfolded very differently.
Neurons in the superior temporal gyrus responded to all vowels, although at different rates of firing. In contrast, neurons that fired exclusively for only one or two vowels were located in the medial frontal region. "Single neuron activity in the medial frontal lobe corresponded to the encoding of specific vowels," said Fried. "The neuron would fire only when a particular vowel was spoken, but not other vowels."
At the collective level, neurons' encoding of vowels in the superior temporal gyrus reflected the anatomy that made speech possible–specifically, the tongue's position inside the mouth. "Once we understand the neuronal code underlying speech, we can work backwards from brain-cell activity to decipher speech," said Fried. "This suggests an exciting possibility for people who are physically unable to speak. In the future, we may be able to construct neuro-prosthetic devices or brain-machine interfaces that decode a person's neuronal firing patterns and enable the person to communicate."
Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-uncovers-brain-code-pronouncing-vowels.html#jCp
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
I Think, Therefore I Spell
From: Scientific American - 09/2012 - page 28
By: Ferris Jabr
Researchers are developing new ways to help the paralyzed communicate with
their thoughts alone. Many of the new techniques rely on computers that
analyze patients' brain activity and translate it into letters or other
symbols. In a study published online in June in Current Biology, Bettina
Sorger of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and her colleagues taught
six healthy adults to answer questions by selecting letters on a computer
screen with their thoughts.
Read the preview (omits last two paragraphs) at:
http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=11595E82-237D-9F22-E82489D23CAAFDF3
Links:
New Brain-Machine Spelling Device Could Help the Paralyzed Communicate
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fmri-spelling-device
Bettina Sorger
http://www.psychology.unimaas.nl/Base/Medewerkerspersonal/Bettinasorger_extended.htm
Neuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/abs/nature04970.html
Mind Reading Computer System May Help People with Locked-in Syndrome
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/brainmachine.jsp
By: Ferris Jabr
Researchers are developing new ways to help the paralyzed communicate with
their thoughts alone. Many of the new techniques rely on computers that
analyze patients' brain activity and translate it into letters or other
symbols. In a study published online in June in Current Biology, Bettina
Sorger of Maastricht University in the Netherlands and her colleagues taught
six healthy adults to answer questions by selecting letters on a computer
screen with their thoughts.
Read the preview (omits last two paragraphs) at:
http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID_CHAR=11595E82-237D-9F22-E82489D23CAAFDF3
Links:
New Brain-Machine Spelling Device Could Help the Paralyzed Communicate
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fmri-spelling-device
Bettina Sorger
http://www.psychology.unimaas.nl/Base/Medewerkerspersonal/Bettinasorger_extended.htm
Neuronal ensemble control of prosthetic devices by a human with tetraplegia
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7099/abs/nature04970.html
Mind Reading Computer System May Help People with Locked-in Syndrome
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/brainmachine.jsp
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