‎Brazil News

This Tuesday (24) the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, begin. Brazil sent the largest delegation in history: there will be 435 members. Of this total, 259 are athletes, guide-athletes, runners, goalkeepers and helmsmen. In the last edition of the Games, in Rio 2016, Brazil was ranked eighth in the medal ranking. This year, Brazilian Paralympic athletes will compete in 20 of the 22 modalities present in the competition. The Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB) plans to be among the 10 main world powers. This projection was made by the technical director of the committee, Alberto Martins, who was presented in an interview on the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) portal in July this year.

 

“We have a very good expectation of finishing the competition between the 10 biggest powers in the world. We did a strategic planning in 2017 covering two cycles, until 2024”, he revealed.

 

To promote better performance in sports practices, one of the athletes' main allies is assistive technology, a set of equipment, products or systems developed to improve the functional capabilities of people with disabilities and contributing to the right to equal conditions and opportunities with others people. From a simple cane to a complex arm or leg prosthesis, assistive technology has helped to improve people's quality of life and social inclusion. According to data from the 2010 Census, carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 23% of the country's population needs some assistive technology.

 

In Brazil, technologies with this purpose are the priority of the MCTI, which has been implementing public policies to promote science, technology and innovation in the field of assistive technology. An example is the implementation of the National Technology Center for people with disabilities and rare diseases (CNT/MCTI), located in the city of Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais, an initiative of the Federal Government through the ministry. The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, astronaut Marcos Pontes, highlighted the need to use this type of technology in the country: “More than 50 million people need some type of device, some type of equipment to improve their quality of life . The idea of ​​this center is not only the development of these technologies that improve people's quality of life, but also to lower their cost”.

 

In this context, the Paralympic Games are a true showcase where several technologies developed in Brazil can be seen in action during competitions. For the Paralympic swimming athlete Victor Alan Nogueira, assistive technology plays a role in promoting the well-being of people with disabilities. “If it weren't for her [the prosthesis she uses], I wouldn't have the facilities I have today, like getting around, which is a basic activity in my daily life. With it I can also drive and do other functional activities that enhance my external training outside the water”, he explains.

 

assistive technology development

At the Renato Acher Information Technology Center (CTI), a research unit linked to the MCTI, several studies are being carried out in this regard. The researcher at the center, Pedro Noritomi, details how a prosthesis is made based on the technology available at the CTI: “We have equipment that allows us to create solutions in assistive technology. We virtually send it to a three-dimensional (3D) printer and it will then materialize that solution using high energy based technology. This type of technology has allowed us to develop solutions that are increasingly adapted to the individual anatomy of each patient”.

 

The MCTI, through the public company Financing Studies and Projects (Finep), linked to the ministry, invests in projects that develop assistive technologies. In 2020 alone, 35 proposals were approved with financing of R$ 55 million for the development of these technologies.