Question: My mother is experiencing difficulty in her electric wheelchair because of left neglect. Is there a product, a sensor for example that would beep if she gets too close to something on the left side?

Answer: There are wheelchair accessories available that have built in sensors. These units are commonly used by blind people. You wear an electronic device around your neck or hold it in your hand and the device's sensors and ultrasound technology can detect obstacles, doors, curbs, steps, etc. If anything is in the path of the wheelchair user it will warn you. These accessories are made by Nurion Industries and are called the Wheelchair Pathfinder and Polaron. There are also some robotic types of wheelchairs that work on the same premise. These are basically computer-operated navigation systems. The wheelchair itself uses infrared, sonar and bump detectors along with a built in, on-board processor. These devices all help to keep the wheelchair away from obstacles and to keep the chair centered in a hallway or room. If one or more of the sensors indicates that the wheelchair is getting to close to an object, then the wheelchair will correct itself automatically to stay clear of the obstacle. These navigation systems have been in the development stage for a few years, so I'm not exactly sure which models, if any, are currently on the market and where.