She showed us the operation of an electric feeder in their possesion. It was the Winsford 5 feeder , which has a two bar linkage, a scooper, and a rotating plate. According her experience, patients responded that this electric feeder is too slow paced for comfortable eating. Furthermore, the patients like to be in control of what they eat and the electric feeder does not provide that type of control. Another drawback is that its price is high, approximately $1800-$2000. Most insurance would not cover this type of expense.
The therapist also mentioned that adults have generally preferred being fed by an attendant rather than learn how to use a feeding device and that children would be more likely candidates.
She questioned the applicability of a head controlled feeding device for quadraplegic persons. From her experience, quadraplegic patients suffered traumatic injuries and also tend to have very limited neck motion. However, she noted that the degree of injury varies greatly from person to person and that a device which works well is customized to the individual's needs and abilities. She suggested the possibility of using eyebrow movements.
Finally, she commented that a design consideration would be to make the device as simple and inconspicuous as possible. Patients do not like to attract unnecessary attention over a meal.
Copyright © Patricia M. Chael, Jimmy Lin, Devon Ramsundar