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1.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng ; 55(8): 2050-6, 2008 Aug.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18632367

ABSTRACT

People with severe upper limb paralysis use devices that monitor head movements to control computer cursors. The three most common methods for producing mouse button clicks are dwell-time, sip-and-puff control, and voice-recognition. Here, we tested a new method in which small tooth-clicks were detected by an accelerometer contacting the side of the head. The resulting signals were paired with head tracking technology to provide combined cursor and button control. This system was compared with sip-and-puff control and dwell-time selection. A group of 17 people with disabilities and ten people without disabilities tested each system by producing mouse clicks as inputs to two software programs. Tooth-click/head-mouse control was much faster than dwell-time control and not quite as fast as sip-and-puff control, but it was more reliable and less cumbersome than the latter.


Subject(s)
Acceleration , Auscultation/instrumentation , Computer Peripherals , Hemiplegia/rehabilitation , Spinal Cord Injuries/rehabilitation , Tooth , Transducers , User-Computer Interface , Adult , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , Female , Hand , Humans , Male , Middle Aged
2.
IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng ; 10(1): 68-81, 2002 Mar.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-12173741

ABSTRACT

Intraspinal microstimulation (ISMS) may provide a means for improving motor function in people suffering from spinal cord injuries, head trauma, or stroke. The goal of this study was to determine whether microstimulation of the mammalian spinal cord could generate locomotor-like stepping and feedback-controlled movements of the hindlimbs. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, 24 insulated microwires were implanted in the lumbosacral cord of three adult cats. The cats were placed in a sling leaving all limbs pendent. Bilateral alternating stepping of the hindlimbs was achieved by stimulating through as few as two electrodes in each side of the spinal cord. Typical stride lengths were 23.5 cm, and ample foot clearance was achieved during swing. Mean ground reaction force during stance was 36.4 N, sufficient for load-bearing. Feedback-controlled movements of the cat's foot were achieved by reciprocally modulating the amplitude of stimuli delivered through two intraspinal electrodes generating ankle flexion and extension such that the distance between a sensor on the cat's foot and a free sensor moved back and forth by the investigators was minimized. The foot tracked the displacements of the target sensor through its normal range of motion. Stimulation through electrodes with tips in or near lamina IX elicited movements most suitable for locomotion. In chronically implanted awake cats, stimulation through dorsally located electrodes generated paw shakes and flexion-withdrawals consistent with sensory perception but no weight-bearing extensor movements. These locations would not be suitable for ISMS in incomplete spinal cord injuries. Despite the complexity of the spinal neuronal networks, our results demonstrate that by stimulating through a few intraspinal microwires, near-normal bipedal locomotor-like stepping and feedback-controlled movements could be achieved.


Subject(s)
Electric Stimulation , Hindlimb/physiology , Implants, Experimental , Locomotion/physiology , Spinal Cord/physiology , Animals , Cats , Electromyography , Feedback , Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery , Microelectrodes , Movement/physiology , Sacrum/surgery , Stress, Mechanical
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