Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify factors that influence the perceived stigma of two assistive devices for visual impairment, namely the white cane and smart glasses. Method: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with eight European students were conducted to probe their experiences and knowledge related to disability, assistive technology, visual impairment, as well as handheld and wearable devices. Results: Close relationships with disabled people seems to have a positive influence on participants perceptions about stigma, disability, and assistive technology. Academic background seems to not have any influence. The aesthetics of assistive devices was observed as an important factor that influences the adoption or abandonment of the device. Conclusion: Device without negative symbolism but with modern aesthetics (smart glasses) were positively accepted by the participants than the device with traditional aesthetics and symbolisms of visual impairment (white cane). Designers should, therefore, consider aesthetics in addition to functionality in order to avoid the perceived stigma, thereby reducing the chances of device abandonment.

The design of products for people with disabilities requires the understanding of a wide range of factors related to users' health, functional abilities, needs, expectations and preferences. Such multifactorial perspective is often perceived as beyond the reach by the students of both graphic and product design, as it comprises knowledge from different areas such are not usually part of design curriculum as health, rehabilitation, computer science and biomedical engineering. Here, we report on strategies for developing design students' empathy and awareness for the needs and expectations of people with disabilities. By means of a combination of theoretical and practical approaches, a course on Inclusive Design was developed as part of the regular curriculum of the Bachelor Programme in Design at Sao Paulo State University (UNESP, Bauru campus, Brazil), with the collaborative participation of members of SORRI BAURU Rehabilitation Center. The final projects developed by the students were based on the demands presented by SORRI BAURU's rehabilitation team, and results reveal that the theoretical-practical approach based on interdisciplinarity was shown to provide the design students a learning experience that, ultimately, supports the quality decision-making in the design process. This paper describes the pedagogical approach, theoretical contents and practical activities developed during the Inclusive Design course. The challenges, benefits, results, and contributions of this experience from the perspective of the design education are also discussed.

Introduction: Many upper-limb injuries have work-related causes such as continued use of computers, typing activities, mouse manipulation, and repetitive movements performed for long periods. This study evaluated the performance of wrist-hand orthoses in manual tasks and in transmission of torque measurement during canned glass opening. Methods: Thirty healthy participants performed donning, typing, and handwriting tasks and transmission of manual torque. The procedures were performed in four conditions: with three different orthoses and with no orthosis as a control. Results: The results showed a significant difference in the time of manual writing (P < 0.001) and in the number of words per minute (P < 0.001) in the typing task with and without orthoses. The perceived difficulty in performing typing (P < 0.001) and manual writing (P < 0.001) was lower with no orthoses and higher for canvas orthosis and the two neoprene orthoses. Transmission of manual torque also decreased with the orthoses compared with using no orthosis (P < 0.001). Among the orthoses, the canvas fabric orthosis yielded a lower performance compared with the two different neoprene fabric orthoses for all the tasks. Conclusions: There are effects of the materials used and the orthosis design when performing handwriting typing tasks and twisting tasks (transmission of manual torque), as well as the correctness of how users donned the orthosis.

Intramedullary nails (IMNs) are the most frequent surgical fixation method for femur fractures. Although IMNs provide good healing outcomes and low complication rates, concerns persist regarding potential complications such as malunion, nonunion, and infections. This multicenter retrospective study aims to assess the epidemiology and outcomes of IMNs for diaphyseal femoral fractures. Data from 91 patients who underwent IMN fixation at two Brazilian hospitals between 2020 and 2024 were analyzed, with a mean age of 33.3 years (SD ± 12.7) and 76.9%% of male patients. Traffic accidents were the most common mechanism of trauma (84.61%). The bone healing rate was 96.7% within six months, and 98.9% within one year, with a complication rate of 3.26%, including two cases of pseudoarthrosis, one case of pseudoarthrosis and infection, and two reoperations. There was a significant association between previous external fixation and fracture type (open/closed) (χ²(1) = 17.5, p_Fischer < 0.001). Previous external fixation was also associated with lower consolidation rates six months post-surgery (χ²(1) = 9.83, p_Fischer = 0.031), but not after one year (χ²(1) = 8.19, p_Fischer = 0.11). The retrograde approach was associated with a lower consolidation rate after six months (χ²(1) = 6.98, p_Fischer = 0.027), but no significant association was found after one year (χ²(1) = 2.27, p_Fischer = 0.308). Only one patient with pseudoarthrosis did not consolidate after one year. The outcomes support the efficacy of IMNs in achieving bone consolidation with low complication rates.