US researchers claim to have developed a device that can enable the disabled interact with the computer or steer a wheelchair using only the tip of their tongue. In case of many disabilities that are resulted from spinal cord injuries or neuro muscular diseases, the limb movements of the person get severely hampered. But as the tongue is directly controlled by the brain by the cranial nerve, in most of the cases, it remains unaffected. This device is in the form of miniscule magnetic tracer of the size of rice grain and needs to be implanted beneath the person’s tongue. The headset with magnetic field sensor can then trace the tongue’s movements transmitting them to the portable computer on person’s clothing that in turn transmits the signals to the desired computer or wheelchair triggering off their movement mechanisms.
This system, however, needs to be fed with prior data regarding various tongue movements and their corrosponding effects; for example, pressing the tongue against a particular teeth should mean a mouse left-click and so on. If efficient, this technology can revolutionise the assistive devices for the disabled making them more independent by enhancing their mobility and hence improving their productivity. This innovative device is teamwork of inmates at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
