Aspire’s third Assistive Technology Conference took place in Mansfield last week. Aspire volunteers and NHS Occupational Therapists from Spinal Centres across the UK and Ireland, along with representatives from other organisations, came along to find out about the latest technologies and how they can be used by those with spinal cord injuries.

Tablet computers and smart phones have become commonplace in everyday life so it was no surprise to see them featuring heavily at the conference. On show, amongst other things, was a phone with full voice control for making calls and texts, environmental controls on the iPad, a tablet with integra mouse compatibility and various switch-operated controls for use on mobile phones. Meanwhile, delegates also attended a session on advanced use of Dragon voice recognition software, explored several types of computer controls operated just by the user’s eyes and even had the chance to have a go on a mouth-operated computer mouse that functions as a musical instrument. Whilst the technologies were varied, both in style and use, all are linked by a common aim of giving greater independence to those who have been paralysed. 

Alex Rankin, Aspire’s Director of Services, was delighted with the two days: “Technology has come on so much since Aspire first ran this conference and it’s great that Aspire can help keep everyone abreast of the developments. But most importantly, all the attendees were genuinely excited about using what they learnt with Aspire to benefit the patients they are working with back at their hospitals.”