Occupational therapy and rehabilitation engineering

Occupational therapists in clinical settings are often challenged with difficult problems in the selection, application and modification of complex mechanical, electrical or structural aids for persons with severe disability who wish to improve their levels of independence. At the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, solutions to such situations are facilitated by interaction between the occupational therapist and the rehabilitation engineer. In this paper, following the identification of the population served and their specialized needs, the working relationship between the occupational therapist and rehabilitation engineer will be discussed through presentation of two case studies. Various commercially available equipment will be considered along with modifications possible, and finally, customer design solutions will be given for some problems. Given the growing store of resources for assisting clients who have special needs, many creative systems can be developed in therapists and engineers combine their respective knowledge and skills in problem solving.