April 19, 2001

REGARDING TECHNOLOGY'S POTENTIAL TO HELP THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

The beginning of the year saw good news for many people whose powers of communication are impaired due to a disabling condition and who are eligible for Medicare.

On Jan. 2, the Social Security Administration announced that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices are henceforth to be considered durable medical equipment and, as such, are eligible for Medicare coverage.

Providing funding for such high-tech items has always fallen outside of the purview of MDA's program, which places primary emphasis on providing clinic, camp and support group services to families, and fostering basic and clinical research seeking to treat and cure neuromuscular diseases.

MDA does provide assistance with the purchase of medically prescribed equipment such as braces and wheelchairs. Moreover, through MDA's loan closet system, individuals served by MDA have been able to obtain technologically advanced devices donated by other users who no longer need them.

President Clinton is seen successfully trying out an eye-tracking system called EyeGaze

The potential for new technology to have a positive impact for people with disabilities was driven home at a recent conference in Los Angeles which offered new devices and new ideas. The "Technology and Persons With Disabilities" conference was sponsored by the Center on Disabilities, California State University at Northridge.

Systems that use eye-tracking technology were the focus of one study presented at the conference. For those who lack the physical power and/or dexterity to manually operate a keyboard or mouse, eye-tracking provides a possible solution; a camera is employed to focus on the user's eye-movement to control a computer system, either by moving a cursor or selecting options in a scanning system.

Three eye-tracking systems, VisionKey, EyeGaze and Quickglance, were contrasted and compared by rehabilitation professionals from the Center for Applied Rehabilitation Technology at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center.

The three systems were tested on the basis of such criteria as ease of setup and ease of use.

Another kind of "hands-free" access can be provided through voice recognition technology. In programs such as IBM Via Voice or Dragon Naturally Speaking, a computer user wears a microphone and speaks into it to issue commands and/or enter text.

The Cyberlink interface employs a band that wraps around the forehead and is said to read impulses that can control a computer system hands-free.

For those who are unable to manipulate a keyboard or mouse due to a disability but who still have vocal powers, such technology can be very helpful.

The process usually involves a period of "training" in which the user reads a designated text into the microphone and the program has a chance to become familiar with the user's vocal peculiarities.

As of yet, no voice recognition software has approached perfection, and no amount of training will make any of the programs perform without error.

Many people, while initially excited by voice technology, quickly become frustrated with its limitations, including the constant need to correct text that was misheard by the computer. Also, constant use of voice recognition technology can be a real strain on the vocal chords.

Another method of hands-free access is a product called Cyberlink, from Brain Actuated Technologies of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

This product, formerly called the Mind Mouse, employs a band strapped around the forehead that manufacturers claim can detect both muscle and brain impulses.

The 10 colored "brainfingers" represent different muscle/brain impulses, which may be detected by the Cyberlink interface.

Cyberlink President and CEO Andrew M. Junker has made numerous public demonstrations of the system, using an electronic display resembling a bar graph. Each fluctuating color bar represented one of 10 distinct "brainfingers," each keyed to a particular impulse that can be detected by the Cyberlink interface.

The ability to influence particular brainfingers to rise or fall can be translated by your computer into the ability to control a mouse, use a web browser, adjust environmental controls, play a game or perform a variety of other functions, all completely hands-free.

Junker, who isn't disabled, initially conceived the Cyberlink interface as a device he could use in hands-free sailing.

Another product talked about at the conference was Johnson & Johnson's iBOT 3000, a wheelchair that uses gyroscopes and microprocessors which allow it to rise up, balance on two wheels and climb stairs. The iBOT isn't currently on the market.

At MDA, we'll continue to keep an eye on fascinating new technology and report on it on this Web site and in the pages of Quest and The ALS Newsletter.

With every best wish . . .

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