ELYRIA, Ohio & SPICEWOOD, Texas—Adaptive Switch Laboratories, a division of Invacare America, has launched the ASL iON Integrated Drive Control System, an advancement for power wheelchair users that goes beyond improved mobility to help enhance their ability to engage with people, interact with their environment and meet more of their needs independently.
An integrated wheelchair drive-control platform, the ASL iON includes Bluetooth connectivity for up to eight devices, multiple active drive controls for the user to navigate through, pre-programmed phrases for users with speech limitations and voice prompts that auditorily tell the user where in the system they are.
"This new system takes customers' independence to new levels by serving as a powerful smart hub and control panel for some of life's most important daily activities," ASL Director Lisa Rotelli said. "The iON allows someone to use the drive control of their wheelchair to also control their technology and environment with the goal of being less reliant on caregivers and others."
The iON offers an array of technologies to help enhance the capabilities of people with the most profound mobility and speech limitations to engage as fully as possible in daily life, Rotelli said. It gives someone the power to independently control their computers or mobile phones from their drive control, devices such as communication devices, tablets, door openers and other assistive technologies. With the built in auditory selection, the user can make requests of people around them from an array of pre-programmed phrases.
For example, individuals who now rely on caregivers to connect a feeding device cable and assist with eating can instead independently connect the device through the Bluetooth in the iON to enjoy a meal. With the iON, individuals can use their ASL drive control to move a mouse and left click with just three switches, helping expand their computer usage abilities. A person who rolls up to a closed door can use the built-in voice and phrases of the iON to communicate with people around asking them to, "Please, open the door".
The iON is designed for individuals with neuromuscular diseases, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) and advanced multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and persons with head or high-level spinal cord injuries. It connects to all ALS digital drive controls.