NRIs make tool that could control PC
2 Jul, 2007 l 0134 hrs ISTlANI


http://www.usatechguide.org/blog/an-...chair-control/

LONDON: Two Indian origin researchers have invented a device that can help people with extremely restricted movement, control a wheelchair or computer more easily.

According to its inventors, engineers Ravi Vaidyanathan and Lalit Gupta of Southern Illinois University, US, the device detects ear-pressure changes because of the way the Eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the back of the mouth, to determine how a person is moving his/her tongue.

"Our results validated that idea extremely well. We can identify different movements with 97% accuracy," said Vaidyanathan, now at Southampton University, UK. In initial tests, eight people were asked to perform four basic tongue movements — up, down, left and right — one hundred times each.

While making these gestures, they wore a custom earplug containing a microphone pointing into the ear. This microphone is capable of picking up subtle pressure changes inside the ear caused by the tongue forcing air around, like when a person blows on a microphone. According to the two, each movement creates a distinctive signal that can be mapped to a computer command or a wheelchair control.

Now, a US company, Think-A-Move has plans to release a wheelchair that can be controlled using the device towards the end of 2007. Think-A-Move has refined its wheelchair control system to cope with swallows and coughs, although users must train it to recognise their tongue movements the first time they use it.

According to New Scientist, the company’s wheelchair will be primarily aimed at quadriplegics who must currently use steering devices that go inside the mouth and are operated by sucking and blowing, or controlled by movement of the tongue. "This system avoids the hygiene and irritation problems they cause, and also keeps the mouth free for talking," said Vaidyanathan.

According to Helen Petrieof York University, UK, the system could significantly improve quality of life for quadriplegic users.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...ow/2165736.cms