Whether a patient suffers from paralysis caused by a traumatic injury or a disorder like Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or has limited strength and dexterity from a stroke or other condition, one common side effect is the loss of independence. What was once a simple task, like changing the TV channel or turning out the lights now requires help.
Patients like these can get care in almost any hospital, but for many, a specialized long-term care hospital like Nebraska’s Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals is the key to a quicker return to home. Like many leading-edge rehabilitation hospitals, they have in-house staff in their Rehabilitation Engineering Center of Excellence who create custom devices for both patients and the research team.
They created a device called First Hope as a solution for patients with physical limitations to enhance their autonomy. The First Hope system allowed a patient to trigger a switch via a sip or puff of air, a wiggle of a toe, or a muscle twitch to call a nurse, surf TV channels, turn off the lights, and more. It served as “a first beacon of hope for many individuals recovering from catastrophic injuries and illnesses at Madonna” said Dr. Judy Burnfield, director of the Madonna Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering.
After testing First Hope with their own patients, Madonna sought the partnership of Curbell Medical, a leading medical device manufacturer with more than 60 years of healthcare experience, to bring the device to a wider audience. Curbell translated the First Hope concept into the AC20 Assistive Control Adaptor, a medical-grade device with a modern, intuitive design and interface, that meets full regulatory compliance including UL 1069.
“We took what Madonna had developed, enhanced the design, added some functionality, and made it durable enough for the hospital environment” says Curbell Product Manager, Art Caprio. Additional functionality includes compatibility with interactive entertainment systems, the ability to select specific TV channels rather than scrolling through all channels, and menus in Spanish and French.
The AC20 is now available to rehabilitation facilities, hospitals, long-term care settings and skilled nursing facilities across the globe.
“I’m thrilled it will now be available for use by patients around the world. Offering those with limited movement capacity an intuitive, modern system to control their hospital room environment and communicate with nurses is essential for both independence and wellbeing as patients embark on their recovery journey,” said Dr. Burnfield.
Susan Fager, Director of Madonna’s Communication Center says, “Our staff really like the AC20, because it really fits into our philosophy of rehabilitation. As soon as we see patients, no matter how severely impaired they are, it's our goal to try to show them they can still be independent. And this is a device that allows us to do that with patients right when they get here. We've always really embraced technology in our facility, so it just integrates nicely into our staff's plan of care for patients.”
Each device is configured individually for the patient and the type of switch that will be used, giving the patient the ability to navigate through menus and select various options. With the Assistive Control Adaptor, what previously required a visit from hospital staff can now be performed independently by the patient.
Although a device that offers so many capabilities could be appear intimidating to its users, a lot of work was put into making sure it was easy to use for both staff and patients. According to Dr. Burnfield, “The Assistive Control Adaptor is very intuitive, and that makes it easy for patients as well as clinicians to learn to use and put into practice. It also has a small form factor, and that's really critical in a room environment that has so much imposing equipment, to have something that feel comfortable in the patient's line of sight.”
With the AC20, what would have previously required a complex and cumbersome series of switches can now be achieved with one compact, user-friendly device, giving patients a new sense of independence. According to Dr. Burnfield, “AC20 gives people hope. It gives them that hope that they're going to be able to take control.”
You can learn more by about Curbell’s AC20 Assistive Control Adaptor by visiting https://curbellmedical.com/assistive-control-adaptor/.