Abstract
This series of five papers, three of which are presented here, provides an overview of rehabilitation engineering from the development of a clinic team through to problem-solving techniques. The first paper discusses the development of the biomechanics clinic team, identifies the differences in engineering and medical approaches to patient problems and proposes guidelines for successful teamwork. The second paper demonstrates that the five parameters of motion, force, neural function, shape and tissue quality are basic to information needs for biomechanical problem-solving. The third paper describes a framework for problem-solving that has been successfully employed for both device and process development. The fourth paper delineates the criteria and constraints that determine clinical viability of “products” in rehabilitation engineering and the last paper of the series outlines a very productive dynamic group problem-solving technique. The papers are intended to enhance communications and demonstrate a more disciplined approach to rehabilitation engineering. The remaining two papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of Prosthetics and Orthotics International.