Juguetes sexuales y parapléjicos
Publicado por Juan en Octubre 15, 2006
Sex toys to help people with spinal cord injuries
VANCOUVER (CUP)—Researchers at two British Columbia schools are developing assistive devices to help improve the sex lives of people with spinal cord injuries.
Researchers from International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD)—a group of spinal-cord-injury researchers based at the University of British Columbia—and the British Columbia Institute of Technology have collaborated to develop specialized vibrators for men and women afflicted with spinal cord injuries.
There are more than 36 000 Canadians with spinal cord injuries, and an additional 1100 new injuries every year.
A study published by Kim Anderson of the Reeve-Irvine Center at the University of California-Irvine shows the importance of sexuality to individuals with spinal cord injuries. In the survey, paraplegics ranked regaining sexual function as their top priority while quadriplegics ranked it second only to regaining arm and hand function.
“Sexual health is just as important an issue for people with spinal cord injuries as it is with anyone else. The fact that there may be complications that need to be addressed makes it all the more important,” said Stephanie Cadieux of the BC Paraplegics Association.
Stacy Elliott, director of the BC Centre for Sexual Medicine and a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC, explained that most individuals with spinal cord injuries retain some sensation below the injured area of the spinal cord.
The specialized vibrators being developed by the ICORD-BCIT team are more powerful than off-the-shelf devices and will allow those with spinal injuries to experience more normal sexual function.
“We’re hoping that there’s reflex arousal stimulated by the vibrator,” Elliott said. “We’re trying to excite [pelvic reflexes] at the spinal level.”
According to Elliott, who is leading the clinical trials of the vibrators, the collaboration of specialists is well diversified.
“They’re the technological experts and we’re the clinical experts. It’s an excellent marriage between BCIT and ICORD,” he said.
They expect to complete the research in six to eight months.
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