Inventions

Lucknow

Mumbai

A Special Wheel Chair for the Disabled

What is the biggest gift one can give to someone who is physically challenged? Giving back their ability to walk may not be possible but helping them live independently can certainly bring a smile to their faces.

Specially designed to cater to the needs of those suffering from spinal injuries, the 'India Wheelchairs' is already acting as legs for the disabled. And what makes it even more special is the fact that a paraplegic has designed it. Arun Sondhi, a former weightlifter is the brain behind it. He is also working as a rehab consultant in Sweden.

Lightweight, portable, collapsible (it can easily fit into cars and even rickshaws) and washable, the person using it can also climb the stairs without any additional support. "Being a paraplegic myself I know through experience how important a good active wheelchair is for paraplegic to be as independent, mobile, active as possible, thereby vastly improving their quality of life," he says.

It was only while working as a volunteer guest instructor at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre in Delhi that he was grieved to see the very conspicuous neglect to the most important tool for this: a suitable wheelchair at an affordable cost! Nevertheless, he refused to relent and decided to take the task into his own hands.

He first went from one wheelchair manufacturer to the other but none could provide him with a concrete solution. However, after months of hard work, effort and research, he succeeded in designing this one.

"The only good, modern designs available were imported and far too expensive, I decided to build a prototype at ISIC itself which would be suitable for active paraplegics in urban as well as rural India, both indoors and outdoors."

Being a user seems to have helped him with the design and other aspects of the chair too. "I kept the design simple and functional and easy to maintain, borrowing ideas freely from various wheelchairs I myself have used during my 20 years as an active wheelchair user," he says.

The final assembly of the prototype was done it Multivac India's workshop in Gurgaon where they already manufactured various BOVs (battery operated vehicle) for the disabled. It was then tested extensively by the patients, rehabilitation experts and by Sondhi himself rigorously to make sure it fulfilled the requirements.

Experts from the filed of medicine too feel that it will a boon for the patients. "A wheelchair means a lot for a disabled person. The best thing about India wheelchair is that it is very easy to manoeuvre and is very cost effective," says Dr HS Chhabra, who is the chief of spinal services at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre.

Available in two sizes, this wheelchairs costs a little over Rupees 6,000. Today, its creator too is happy that he has designed something not only for himself but for others like him. And he's sure he will lessen their problems if not end them.

Source: Walking on wheels. The Pioneer, Lucknow, 16 July 2006.

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Opening up the Net World to the Blind

Google has begun testing a new version of its search system that makes finding information on the Web easier for blind or visually impaired

TV Raman, a research scientist at Google, said his project sorts search results based on the simplicity of pages layout, the quality of design and the organization and labeling of in formation on each page.

Complex, graphical designs that pack a lot of information into large Web pages fare poorly when a low vision user relies on screen magnifiers that must expand small sections of a computer screen and make them huge, the researcher said.

A blind or dyslexic user of a screen reader that converts text into spoken words using a synthesized voce would waste a lot of time skipping over extraneous page content, he noted.

The dirty little secret of Internet design is that many shortcuts that Web page builders take to make it easier to view information online render Web pages nearly impossible to use by the visually impaired with machine-reading technology.

Web design guru Jakob Nielsen, the co-author of a 150-page 2001 study called "Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Users with Disabilities" came up with 75 principles for accessible Web design after a study of 100 computer users.

Making Web pages more accessible offers potential benefits to all users, Nielsen argues. His ground rules apply to anyone looking to scan the Web quickly for information, in low light or on complex sites: Avoid small buttons. Minimize scrolling. Design and label pages consistently. Create good contrast between text and pages.

Raman said that by developing better ways of measuring accessibility, Google eventually could offer consumers with specific disabilities ways perform more customized searches.

Source: Easing net search for the blind. DNA, Daily, Mumbai, 21 July 2006.

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