Here are my additions to the wish list...
One of the most frustrating things to deal with are liquid crystal
displays. They are present on all manner of appliances, computer
peripherals, telephones and office equipment, electronic musical
instruments, and medical devices. There is a company in Canada that
makes a small, hand-held device that can scan an LED display and speak
the contents of the display through a built-in speech synthesizer. If
such a device were to be built that was capable of working with LCD
displays, it would be a really useful product. Ideally, it would also be
able to send its data out through a standard serial port so that
deaf-blind persons could use it in conjunction with a device like the
Braille Lite.
Item number 2:
This is, in some way, related to the first idea, but probably somewhat
more involved in that the controls may also have to be modified... For
some years now I have been trying to get somebody interested in making
the small, portable(laptop computer sized), peritoneal dialysis machines
accessible. This would involve making the LCD display, the various
programming controls, warning indicators, and physical fluid path
connections accessible and usable by a totally blind person. It should
also be noted that the leading cause of blindness among adults is
diabetes, and a large percentage of these people also do, or will suffer
renal failure at some point, and most blind people are discouraged from
treating their renal failure through peritoneal dialysis because of
concerns over infection introduced by contamination. Peritoneal dialysis
offers a blind person a much greater degree of independence, and quality
of life because treatment can be done at home, work, school, etc.. It is
not for everyone, but the choice should be made based on medical facts,
and personal choice, not on a physician's belief that a blind person
can't perform the procedure safely. I speak from experience -- I managed
my own Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis treatment for 3-1/2
years, using a set of techniques and devices which I developed and
designed myself, and had made to my specifications.
Item number 3:
I am still hoping that there will one day be a decent, small, and
powerful talking, programmable scientific calculator. Modeled on an HP
41, and afforadable by students as well as working professionals. I
realize that there are plenty of software alternatives for PCs, and that
PCs are getting smaller, but it is just not the same as having one you
can put in your pocket.
That's all for now<grin>.
-- Jim Rebman <jrebman@netcom.com>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Dec 02 2012 - 01:30:04 PST