Assistive Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering
The interdisciplinary fields of Assistive Technology and Rehabilitation Engineering focus on understanding the impact of disability, seeking to ameliorate the impact through the employment of appropriate technology. Aided by numerous illustrations, tables, and charts, this chapter provides the reader with an overview of this field in terms of its history, main concepts and principles, major activity areas, and some of the exciting current research and development projects. The chapter also covers the key psycho-social and technical challenges associated with various handicapping conditions, the employment outlook for this field, the training and educational programs that are available, and the professional societies and organizations that hold conferences, publish research reports, and seek to advance the field. Lastly, numerous references have been provided so that a reader can pursue his/her topics of interest.