The Recent Progress on Rehabilitation Engineering in China and Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Abstract

A nation of one billion people, China is in want of interdisciplinary experts in both engineering science and life science. A special program has been jointly organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai Medical University to offer a new discipline in Biomedical and Rehabilitation Engineering. According to sampling statistics given by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Administration in march1988, there are over fifty millions of disabled persons in China. The present status of Chinese Rehabilitation Medicine and Engineering are as follows: The State Council controls the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Civil Administration which in turn control the Bureau of Medical Administration and the Bureau of Welfare. Within those bureaus there are offices under the control of local provincial, urban and autonomous region departments of medical and welfare administration. Welfare work is carried out in every province, city and autonomous region under the jurisdiction of the Govemment. Programs for the blind and deafmute have been set up by the Department of Special Education under the Bureau of Primary Education which is under the regulation of the Ministry of Education. Labor employment is administrated by the Bureau of Training and Employment which falls under the Ministry of Personnel. The National Organizations include 1)China Welfare Fund and Federation for the Disabled, 2)Chinese Association for the Blind and Deaf-Mute and 3)Chinese Association of Rehabiliation Medicine. The latter organ is under the control of the Ministry of Public Health. It consists of three special Committees: 1)Committee of Rehabilitation Medicine Education, 2)Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine combined with Western Medicine and 3)Committee of Rehabilitation Engineering. Affiliated with the China Disabled Person Federation, a comprehensive research institute has been established in China that provides disabled persons with overall rehabilitation. It is also an educational institution for training rehabilitation professionals for the country. This institute is called now the CHINA REHABILITATION RESEARCH CENTER(CRRC). CRRC has been identified as the key project of China Seventh Five-Year's Plan and wasestablished under the investment of the Chinese government, intemational gratis, and the funds raised by the China Fund for the Handicapped. The international aids were mainly from Japan, Germany, Canada and also from USA. UK, Hong Kong area and others.Rehabilitation equipment is the main equipment for CRRC. There is whole set equipment including electronical therapy, water therapy, physical therapy, living training and occupational therapy for overall rehabilitation. It is the most advanced in China . The Institution of Rchabilitation Engineering in the CRRC is equipped with whole set of equipment for producing artificial limbs and orthopaedic devices and advanced automatic gait analysis system.