Home and worksite modifications, such as ramps, lifts, bathroom alterations, or other adaptations to structures, decrease or do away with various barriers. Prosthetics and orthotics replace, augment or substitute for body parts that are missing or defective or improve cognitive functioning by serving as reminders or prompts. Seating and positioning devices improve the stability, support, and other characteristics of wheelchair and other seating systems. Aids for the vision-impaired both improve and substitute for the ability to see objects. Aids for the hearing-impaired both improve and substitute for the ability to hear in a wide variety of situations.
Mobility aids increase people's capacities to get around.
And vehicle modifications increase people's abilities to use motor vehicles. The HandBike's clever arrangement of levers, handles, wheels and gears epitomizes the new approach. She taught herself to ride in a couple of hours and, thanks to the side wheels, finds it safe enough to use even on icy streets. The bounty that inventors' ingenuity has created is limitless. The team hopes that online videos of the chair mounting a curb will entice some entrepreneur into producing it for sale.