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Biomedical subjects

R L Nelham

Publications and source records attributed to R L Nelham.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Development of sitting ability, assessment of children with a motor handicap and prescription of appropriate seating systems.

The prescription of appropriate seating for children and young adults with a motor handicap is a complex issue requiring a clear identification of the child's physical ability in all postures. Recent work by Pountney et al. (1990) has shown how the development of lying ability is linked to sitting ability. This emphasises the importance of the total approach to assessment and prescription of seating systems and of not isolating seating needs from other postural considerations. This article summarises the work undertaken in recent years at Chailey Heritage to improve knowledge about prescriptive, adaptive seating for children with a motor handicap. The results are being increasingly applied throughout the United Kingdom.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1988

Clinical aspects of the Chailey Adaptaseat.

A methodological assessment procedure for seating has been established and seven levels of sitting ability defined from which prescription criteria for seating are established. The inappropriateness of intimately moulded seating for individuals with sitting abilities of levels 2-7 is explained and the principle features of the Chailey Adaptaseat described. The sitting ability of six children and adolescents taking part in the clinical trials of the prototype Adaptaseat has improved or been maintained and a brief case history of a 26-year-old man with cerebral palsy is presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Seating for the chairbound disabled person--a survey of seating equipment in the United Kingdom.

The chairbound, handicapped person often requires a cushion to distribute the supportive forces over the largest area possible in order to reduce the risk of the development of a pressure sore. The paraplegic, or someone with a pelvic obliquity, may require a specially contoured cushion to redistribute seating pressures. Additionally, postural support can be provided by a relatively simple harness or by lateral support pads, either fitted as extras to standard wheelchairs or included as part of some wheelchair designs. The severely handicapped person may require padded inserts in his wheelchair or an intimately moulded seat which helps to control some spasms as well as to provide a functional, comfortable posture. Each of the commonly used methods of solving the seating problems of the chairbound person is discussed and different production processes used for the manufacture of personalized seats are presented.

Persons with Disabilities↗
PubMed1981

Carbon fibre reinforced plastic applied to prosthetics and orthotics.

This paper describes the work carried out at the Rehabilitation Engineering Unit, Chailey Heritage Hospital, in applying carbon fibre reinforced plastic CFRP to prosthetics and orthotics. The prosthetic application relates to the construction of the Chailey Harness which was used to mount externally powered, upper limb prostheses to the torso of limb deficient children damaged by the drug Thalidomide. The application to orthotics was limited to Hip-Knee-Ankle-Orthoses (HKAO) as worn by severely handicapped children with spina bifida and led to the development of a shapable CFRP/aluminium alloy hybrid composite bar. The construction of the composite, its properties and the assembly and performance of the first orthoses are described. Some of the practical problems experienced with the use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic are identified.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗
PubMed1978

Moulded supportive seating for the disabled.

In severe cases of physical disability intimate supportive seating may be required to provide maximum comfort, a good position for functional activities, improved respiration, relief of localized pressure, control of spasm, protection, or improved management. A service for providing such seating has been developed at Chailey Heritage. The seat is vacuum-formed from thermoplastic materials, having a soft non-absorbent foam for the linear and a hard semi-rigid outer shell. A mould is obtained by casting the patient using the vacuum consolidation technique and by recording the resulting impression using plaster-of-Paris. Nearly 200 seats have been made using the technique with a high rate of success.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1975

The manufacture of moulded supportive seating for the handicapped.

The wheelchair-bound population often have difficulty in obtaining a correct or comfortable posture in their chairs and sometimes develop pressure sores from long-duration sitting. This problem is being solved by manufacturing personalised, contoured seats which support the patient over the maximum area possible thereby reducing the pressure on the body and the incidence of pressure sores. A cast is obtained of the patient in a comfortable, medically correct posture and from this cast the seat is vacuum formed in thermoplastic materials or hand layed up in glass fibre reinforced resin. Some correction of deformity may be achieved. It is also possible to use the moulded seat in a vehicle.

Persons with Disabilities↗