The achievement is expected to improve the lives of many thousands of paralyzed people, such as quadriplegics, who are unable to move their arms or have a voice strong enough to give voice commands
People who are severely paralyzed from the neck down will in future be able to move their wheelchairs using only their tongues, thanks to a groundbreaking wireless system developed by American researchers. A small bar of magnetic titanium, which is attached to the tip of the tongue (similar to an ear piercing), acts as a remote control, giving instructions to the wheelchair to move in the desired direction.
The achievement is expected to improve the lives of many thousands of paralyzed people, such as quadriplegics, who are unable to move their arms, nor do they have a voice strong enough to give voice commands. The paralyzed person moves his wheelchair simply by moving his tongue left and right, as happens with the cursor of a computer mouse, while when he slowly or quickly touches the inside of his cheek with his tongue with the built-in wireless device, he controls the speed of the wheelchair.
The researchers, led by Maijam Govanlu and Jeonghee Kim of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, in collaboration with Anne Lauman of the Northwestern University School of Medicine, who published the relevant paper in the medical journal “Science Translational Medicine,” according to the BBC, Reuters and “New Scientist,” named their system “Tongue Drive System.”.
When paralyzed users move their tongues, the magnetic bar causes a change in the magnetic field around their mouth, which is detected by four sensors placed in a special headset on their head. The digital information is then transmitted wirelessly to an iPod worn by the user, which sends the relevant electronic signals – commands – to the wheelchair’s computer, so that it moves accordingly.
Tests with 34 paralyzed people showed that within just half an hour they were able to learn and utilize the capabilities of the new system, while their performance improved further with a few weeks of practice. The same technique allows the use of language to move not only the cart, but also the cursor on a computer screen, so the paralyzed user can now play video games, make phone calls by typing numbers on virtual keypads, etc.
The researchers are already working to further improve their system, initially by removing the headset from the user's head and moving the sensors into their mouth. The technology is not yet ready for commercial application, but the researchers have already formed a company called Bionic Sciences to promote the device to the market, in collaboration with Georgia Tech.
Source: protothema.gr
