Spinal-injury patients can now operate computer

A wireless device helps people with severe spinal injuries operate a computer or move an electrically powered wheelchair by simply by moving their tongues.

The sensors track the location of a tiny magnet attached to the users’ tongues. In earlier versions of the tongue drive system, the sensors were mounted on a headset worn by the user.

“By moving the sensors inside the mouth, we have created a tongue drive system with increased mechanical stability and comfort that is nearly unnoticeable,” said Maysam Ghovanloo, associate professor of computer engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the US.

The new device contains magnetic field sensors mounted on its four corners that detect movement of a tiny magnet attached to the tongue, according to a Georgia statement.

The tongue drive system was presented at the Feb 19-23 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco, the US.