Telephone set and environmental control center-VITAL aids disabled people at home and in medical centers

One of the vital needs of the disabled people is to communicate with other people and to control certain environmental conditions. Due to their restricted motility of impaired sensorial capabilities, telecommunication facilities are even more important to them than to nondisabled people. Many of them, however, are not able to use standard telephone sets, they need a special telephone set. To meet these requirements. VITAL subsets have been developed by SEL/ITT. This paper describes the principle features of the basic telephone subsets VITAL and the supplementary units, and presents some typical example for applications at home, at the working place, and in a medical center. The two telephone subsets VITAL 1 and 2 form the basis of the whole VITAL family. They serve as a telephone subset and as an environmental control center. VITAL meets and requirements of persons who are impaired in their motility in sight or in hearing and by means of the large buttons especially the needs of persons suffering from cerebral palsy resp. spinal injury and of the multiple disabled. The operating force can be adapted easily to the individual needs of the disabled person. By use of a "line" button the telephone set can be operated while the handset is fixed in a stand. Also the subset itself can be mounted on a stand, e.g. in an overhead position. One of the most important supplements is the VITAL E8 through which the disabled can operate up to 6 mains voltage circuits.