Use Of Mechanical Vibrations Research Articles

Uses of Mechanical Vibration in the Education of Multiply Handicapped Blind Children

Multiply handicapped blind children, particularly those with severe or profound mental and/or auditory handicaps, are effectively deprived of many sensations, and hence many opportunities for learning. It is therefore of particular interest when a technique is developed that appears to utilize an intact portion of their sensorium. In this paper, the uses of mechanical vibration for stimulating, rewarding and suppressing the behaviors of multiply handicapped children are discussed. A review of the published literature, together with our experience, indicate how the use of mechanical vibration has helped to develop new skills for multiply handicapped children. Suggestions for further research and refinement of the techniques are made.

VIBRATORY MOTOR STIMULATION : A Preliminary Report

At the annual meeting of the Australian Association of Neurologists in 1964, J. W. Lance-from the Division of Neurology, Prince Henry Hospital, Sydney, and the School of Medicine, University of New South Wales-made one of the earliest reports on the effects of low amplitude, high frequency, sinusoidal stretch on human skeletal muscle (Lance, 1965). This effect consists of an involuntary asynchronous motor unit contraction in the muscle subjected to the mechanical vibration, with reciprocal relaxation of the prime antagonists. Hagbarth and Eklund (1966a) termed this response the tonic vibration reflex (TVR). This author has coined the term vibratory motor stimulation (VMS) to describe the use of mechanical vibration for the purpose of eliciting the TVR or its correlates.

The use of mechanical vibration in the oxidation of technical paraffin wax to synthetic fatty acids

1. The effect of mechanical vibration on the rate of oxidation of paraffin wax, over the pulsation range 300–2100 cpm, has been studied. 2. It has been established that the oxidation of wax is intensified in direct proportion to the magnitude of the pulsations used.