University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, Queensland, Australia.
Br J Sports Med. 2010 Feb;44(3):215-20. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.067249.
People with disabilities often depend on assistive devices to enable activities of daily living as well as to compete in sport. Technological developments in sport can be controversial.
To review, identify and describe current technological developments in assistive devices used in the summer Paralympic Games; and to prepare for the London 2012 Games, the future challenges and the role of technology are debated.
A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature and personal observations of technological developments at the Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) Paralympic Games was conducted.
Standard assistive devices can inhibit the Paralympians' abilities to perform the strenuous activities of their sports. Although many Paralympic sports only require technology similar to their Olympic counterparts, several unique technological modifications have been made in prosthetic and wheelchair devices. Technology is essential for the Paralympic athlete, and the potential technological advantage for a Paralympian, when competing against an Olympian, is unclear.
Technology must match the individual requirements of the athlete with the sport in order for Paralympians to safely maximise their performance. Within the 'performance enhancement or essential for performance?' debate, any potential increase in mechanical performance from an assistive device must be considered holistically with the compensatory consequences the disability creates. To avoid potential technology controversies at the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, the role of technology in sport must be clarified.
残疾人通常依赖辅助设备来进行日常生活活动以及参与体育运动。体育领域的技术发展可能存在争议。
综述、识别和描述夏季残奥会中使用的辅助设备的当前技术发展情况；为 2012 年伦敦奥运会做准备，未来的挑战和技术的作用正在被讨论。
对雅典（2004 年）和北京（2008 年）残奥会的同行评议文献进行系统回顾，并对技术发展进行个人观察。
标准的辅助设备可能会限制残疾人在其运动项目中完成剧烈活动的能力。尽管许多残奥会运动项目只需要与奥运会类似的技术，但在假肢和轮椅设备方面已经进行了一些独特的技术改进。技术对残奥会运动员来说是必不可少的，而当残奥会运动员与奥运会运动员竞争时，他们获得的潜在技术优势尚不清楚。
为了使残疾人能够安全地最大限度地发挥自己的表现，技术必须符合运动员的个人需求和运动项目的要求。在“提高性能或对性能至关重要？”的争论中，必须全面考虑辅助设备在机械性能方面的任何潜在提升，以及残疾所带来的补偿后果。为了避免 2012 年伦敦奥运会和残奥会的潜在技术争议，必须澄清体育领域的技术作用。
