PDAs help troops with brain injuries
Many of those injured in Iraq have returned home with artificial limbs. Now those who come back with brain injuries are getting a type of prosthetic for the mind. These "personal digital assistants," or PDAs, serve as short-term memory for many who find their brains can't work like they used to. Master Sgt. Tony Wiswyanski suffered a brain injury and other wounds in Iraq when his Humvee was struck by two rocket-propelled grenades. While he was being treated at a brain-injury center in Virginia, a speech pathologist ordered a PDA for him. Among other things, he programs it to beep an audio alert to remind him about appointments and to record phone numbers. The military and Veterans Affairs health care systems have begun providing the hand-held computers to those with brain injuries to remind them of appointments, medication and family and job obligations. Personal digital assistants, made by companies such as Palm, HP and BlackBerry, were first known as scheduling aids, thanks to their digital organizers. Now they can come with a host of other features including cell phones, text messaging, audio recording, Internet access and satellite navigation. Wisyanski was one of the first to get one and he said the doctors were a little concerned that the purchase might be viewed as frivolous. A doctor at a conference on brain injuries described the case of an Iraq veteran who used a PDA and a digital voice recorder to act as his short-term memory, and a hand-held satellite navigation system just to walk a few blocks from his apartment to the subway station.
