Tongue Ring Joy Stick
Tongue rings could be the next great fashion trend for paraplegic and tetraplegic people, but not for reasons one would think. They are not suddenly styling their hair into purple mohawks or punk rock clothes.... well they might, but that is not the point. The tongue ring would not be a fashion statment, but a means of independent control over their wheelchairs.
Recenlty, a study was conducted where 11 tetraplegics had their tongues pierced with a magnetic stud that acts like a joystick, allowing users to control the movements and turns of their wheelchairs. The magnetic barbell creates an electirc field in the mouth. When users flick their tongues, the magnetic field is disturbed and the changes are detected by a headset sensor which translates signals to a computer or iPhone.
The Tongue-Based System was tested on a 50 meter obstacle course with 13 turns, 24 obstacles and random emergency stops. It was tested with 11 tetraplegics and 23 people who already had tongue piercings. With only thrity minutes of training, the results were dramatic. The users completed the course three times faster using the tongue-based system than using the most widely used system, the sip and puff, which usesa straw to control the movements.
This article interested me because I have always wondered what it would be like to lose control over your own body and what technology is being created to help those who do not have that most basic function. I would want as much independence as I could possibly have. The tonuge-based system not only works for controlling the wheelchair, but also for operating a computer. The possibilites coulsbe endless. This is also one of the least invasive and quicker systems compared to the systems that read brain waves and the ones controllled with breathing. The only thing one would have to do is get a tongue piercing!!
For more information:
http://t.nbcnews.com/health/tongue-piercing-lets-paralyzed-control-wheelchairs-2D11664972
Recenlty, a study was conducted where 11 tetraplegics had their tongues pierced with a magnetic stud that acts like a joystick, allowing users to control the movements and turns of their wheelchairs. The magnetic barbell creates an electirc field in the mouth. When users flick their tongues, the magnetic field is disturbed and the changes are detected by a headset sensor which translates signals to a computer or iPhone.
The Tongue-Based System was tested on a 50 meter obstacle course with 13 turns, 24 obstacles and random emergency stops. It was tested with 11 tetraplegics and 23 people who already had tongue piercings. With only thrity minutes of training, the results were dramatic. The users completed the course three times faster using the tongue-based system than using the most widely used system, the sip and puff, which usesa straw to control the movements.
This article interested me because I have always wondered what it would be like to lose control over your own body and what technology is being created to help those who do not have that most basic function. I would want as much independence as I could possibly have. The tonuge-based system not only works for controlling the wheelchair, but also for operating a computer. The possibilites coulsbe endless. This is also one of the least invasive and quicker systems compared to the systems that read brain waves and the ones controllled with breathing. The only thing one would have to do is get a tongue piercing!!
For more information:
http://t.nbcnews.com/health/tongue-piercing-lets-paralyzed-control-wheelchairs-2D11664972
posted by MargaretKendrick at 3:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home