Computer-aided rehabilitation engineering--CARE

Computer-aided design (CAD) and related technologies are having a dramatic impact upon manufacturing industry. The advantages of these technologies over traditional methods include improved accuracy and quality, reduced product development time and ease of product modification and hence customization. The resultant increases in productivity, whilst maintaining flexibility of design, have obvious potential in the rehabilitation equipment industry. Recent applications of these technologies to the analysis of prostheses and wheelchairs and to the design and production of sockets for amputees, prosthetic implants and custom seating are reviewed. Computer-Aided Rehabilitation Engineering (CARE) is in its infancy. However, given the rapidity of developments in this field, CARE has the potential to radically alter rehabilitation engineering over the next decade.