Post by Willow on Nov 29, 2013 7:09:32 GMT 9.5
Researchers unveil tongue-controlled wheelchairs, computers
US RESEARCHERS have invested body art with new purpose, creating a tongue stud that can place phone calls, play video games and drive wheelchairs.
Tests of the wireless device, described today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found it was three times as fast as the technology currently favoured by people paralysed from the neck down.
“Tongue piercing put to medical use – who would have thought it?” said co-author Anne Laumann, from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Many quadriplegics control their wheelchairs by puffing or inhaling through straws. But these “sip-and-puff” devices are slow, require frequent cleaning and are problematic for people who need mechanical help to breathe.
The researchers decided tongues could make ideal joysticks. “The tongue is controlled by a cranial nerve which generally escapes damage in spinal cord injury and neuromuscular diseases,” the paper says.
“(Its) motor cortex rivals that of the fingers and hand, providing sophisticated motor control and manipulation. The tongue can move rapidly and accurately, its motion is intuitive and (its) muscle fibres are quite fatigue-resistant.”
The new device, a barbell-shaped titanium ring, has a magnetic field that changes when the tongue is moved. The changes are picked up by sensors on a headset and relayed to an iPod connected to a wheelchair or computer.
Tests on 23 able-bodied people and 11 quadriplegics found they needed just half an hour of training on the “tongue drive system”. They used it to click on computer targets, play video games, dial phone numbers and drive a powered wheelchair.
Quadriplegics accustomed to using sip-and-puff technology found the new approach was three times faster, and just as accurate.
The researchers are developing the device for commercialisation, and working on a headset-free version.
The tongue drive is the latest in a long line of assistive technologies for quadriplegics, including brain computer interfaces, eye trackers, head pointers, voice recognition systems and tooth-click controllers. However many are distracting and uncomfortable, often requiring surgery, and prone to electrical interference.
US RESEARCHERS have invested body art with new purpose, creating a tongue stud that can place phone calls, play video games and drive wheelchairs.
Tests of the wireless device, described today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, found it was three times as fast as the technology currently favoured by people paralysed from the neck down.
“Tongue piercing put to medical use – who would have thought it?” said co-author Anne Laumann, from Northwestern University in Chicago.
Many quadriplegics control their wheelchairs by puffing or inhaling through straws. But these “sip-and-puff” devices are slow, require frequent cleaning and are problematic for people who need mechanical help to breathe.
The researchers decided tongues could make ideal joysticks. “The tongue is controlled by a cranial nerve which generally escapes damage in spinal cord injury and neuromuscular diseases,” the paper says.
“(Its) motor cortex rivals that of the fingers and hand, providing sophisticated motor control and manipulation. The tongue can move rapidly and accurately, its motion is intuitive and (its) muscle fibres are quite fatigue-resistant.”
The new device, a barbell-shaped titanium ring, has a magnetic field that changes when the tongue is moved. The changes are picked up by sensors on a headset and relayed to an iPod connected to a wheelchair or computer.
Tests on 23 able-bodied people and 11 quadriplegics found they needed just half an hour of training on the “tongue drive system”. They used it to click on computer targets, play video games, dial phone numbers and drive a powered wheelchair.
Quadriplegics accustomed to using sip-and-puff technology found the new approach was three times faster, and just as accurate.
The researchers are developing the device for commercialisation, and working on a headset-free version.
The tongue drive is the latest in a long line of assistive technologies for quadriplegics, including brain computer interfaces, eye trackers, head pointers, voice recognition systems and tooth-click controllers. However many are distracting and uncomfortable, often requiring surgery, and prone to electrical interference.