Tongue piercing lets paralyzed drive wheelchairs

1/3/2014 12:00:00 AM

An experimental device is letting paralysed people drive wheelchairs simply by flicking their tongue in the right direction. Key to this wireless system: Users get their tongue pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewellery and acts like a joystick, in hopes of offering them more mobility and independence.

Researchers reported Wednesday that 11 people paralysed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the tongue device to pilot their wheelchairs through an obstacle course full of twists and turns, and to operate a computer, too. “It’s really powerful because it’s so intuitive,” said Jason DiSanto, 39, of Atlanta, who was among the first spinal cord-injured patients to get his tongue pierced for science and try out the system. “The first time I did it, people thought I was driving for, like, years.”

The team of researchers in Atlanta and Chicago put the Tongue Drive System to the test against one of the most widely used assistive technologies, called sip-and-puff, that users operate by breathing into a straw. Using the tongue, patients operated their wheelchairs a bit faster but just as accurately – and on average, they performed about three times better on video game-like computer tests, said lead researcher Maysam Ghovanloo, director of Georgia Tech’s bionics lab.

The research, reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine, is an early step that allowed use of the device only inside laboratories. Larger studies in real-world conditions are required before the device ever could be sold. And the tongue piercing may be a turn-off for some potential users, the researchers acknowledge.

But the work is attracting attention from specialists who say there’s a big need for more assistive technologies so they can customise care for the severely disabled. “For people who have very limited ability to control a power wheelchair, there aren’t that many options,” said Dr Brad Dicianno, a rehabilitation specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who wasn’t involved with the new research. “There is some interesting promise for this tongue control.”

Here’s how the system works: A headset detects the tongue’s position when the user flicks that magnetic stud. Touch a spot on the right bottom tooth to go right, for example. The headset wirelessly beams that information to a smartphone the user carries. An app then sends the command to move the wheelchair or the computer cursor.

Why the tongue? “It’s unobstrusive, easy to use and flexible,” said Ghovanloo, a biomedical engineer who created the system and has started a company that is working with Georgia Tech to commercialise it. Most people with spinal cord injuries – or neurologic diseases that also can paralyse – still can move the tongue. It doesn’t require special concentration. The tongue is pretty tireless. And the amount of real estate the brain’s motor cortex dedicates to the tongue and mouth rivals that of the fingers and hand, offering multiple complex movements, Ghovanloo said.

He led the team of researchers from Atlanta’s Shepherd Center for spinal injuries, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University. DiSanto, an electrical engineer who became paralysed from the neck down in a 2009 diving accident, said the headset is less intrusive than the sip-and-puff device that he normally uses, which requires a straw-like tube to be worn in front of his face. More important, he said, the tongue drive gave him more control, allowing him to move diagonally, for example. As for the piercing, “there is some getting used to it”, said DiSanto, who got his in 2011. It took about a week to heal, and speaking and eating felt funny initially but he got used to the sensation. It’s not for everyone. The current study tested the device in 23 able-bodied participants and 11 paralysed volunteers.

By study’s end, all of the disabled volunteers preferred the tongue system to their regular assistive device, said co-author Joy Bruce, who heads the Shepherd Center’s spinal cord injury lab. But patients who were older or worried that a tongue stud wasn’t acceptable in their profession decided against participating. Ten other patients signed up but dropped out. One had the piercing fall out, researchers reported, while others had problems finding transportation to the study site, unrelated medical issues or lost interest. Ghovanloo plans to add functions to the smartphone app to let users turn on the TV or the lights with a flick of the tongue, too. He’s also made the device less visible – putting the headset’s sensors on a dental retainer instead. Studies begin soon to tell if that approach works without compromising users’ speech. DiSanto has signed up for that next round of testing. 

“Somebody that’s in a wheelchair already has a stigma,” he said. “If there was something that could be developed to control my wheelchair and the environment around me, to make me more independent without having to have medical devices coming out of my mouth, it would be a huge benefit.”

By Lauran Neergaard AP



 News from National  

Get the latest news, resources and information from our national affiliate, United Spinal Association.



  Our Mission

The Mission of the Connecticut Spinal Cord Injury Association (SCIACT), a chapter of United Spinal Association, is to support those with spinal related injuries or diseases and their families by being an advocate for their rights while serving as a resource to its members and the general public.

Learn More

 More stories in sci_news

  Independent living centers at risk from state, federal budget cuts

Go To Article...

  Ed Roberts activist Google Doodle honors leader of the disability rights movement

Go To Article...

  People with SCI Wanted for Rowing-Based Exercise Study

Read More...

  New science helps a paralyzed man move his legs for the first time in years

Go To Article...

  Olympic Swimmer Amy Van Dyken Determined to Walk Again

Go To Article...

  Man With Severed Spine Walks Again in 'World First'

Go To Article...

  Paraplegic in an exoskeleton opens the World Cup -- with a kick

Go To Article...

  Stimulation restores some function for 4 paralyzed men

Go To Article...

  Repair Stem Cells Institute Announces "Double Benefits for SCI" Stem Cells Treatment

Read More...

  Tobii EyeMobile: Control Windows 8 tablets using only your eyes

Go To Article...

  Adaptive Snowboarding and Other Winter Sports

Go To Article...

  TEK Robotic Mobilization Device: designed to replace wheelchairs

Go To Article...

  Tongue piercing lets paralyzed drive wheelchairs

Read More...

  Senate Bill Introduced To Create Separate Benefit Category for Complex Rehab Technology

Read More...

  Ekso Bionics' robotic suit eyes-on (video)

Go To Article...

  NCART: Schumer to Introduce Senate Bill for Separate Benefit Category

Go To Article...

  All-terrain chairs open doors

Go To Article...

  Nobel Winners Unlocked Cells Unlimited Potential

Go To Article...

  UK Paraplegic Woman Uses Robotic Suit to Walk

Go To Article...

  SCI Total Fitness Program Breaks Down the Barriers of Exercise For People with Spinal Cord Injury

Read More...

  Paralyzed Rats Learn to Walk Again In Rehabilitation Experiment

Go To Article...

  Compressed Natural Gas Fueling Station Opens at Metro Taxi

Read More...

  Landmark Spinal Repair Stem Cell Trial

Read More...

  Lack Of Accessible Cabs Doesn’t Sit Well With Senator

Read More...

  More Than Walking: filmaker's SCI joureny

Read More...

  StemCells, Inc. Initiates World’s First Neural Stem Cell Trial in Spinal Cord Injury

Read More...

  First patient treated in embryonic stem cell trial

Go To Article...

  Robotic Legs Get Wheelchair Users Walking

Go To Article...

  Paralyzed Rats Walk Again

Go To Article...



  Donate

Donating to the SCIACT has never been easier or more secure! Please click this button to donate the amount of your choice using your PayPal account or any major credit card.

Learn More