An Android or Apple mobile device with a communication app for people who have difficulty speaking, such as an iPad with Proloquo2Go, is not a new concept anymore. However, insurance paying for a mobile device with this type of software is not as commonplace. A little over a year ago, Saltillo came out with the NovaChat, a Samsung Tablet and/or Media Player enclosed in a hard-shell case with an external speaker and a sophisticated communication app for both children and adults. The NovaChat comes in a “dedicated” model, which means the device can only be used as a communication device and all of the “tablet” features such as access to games, Hulu+, and internet are locked to the user. When a device is “dedicated”, it is considered appropriate for coverage by some insurances, state Medicaid programs, and Medicare. These particular devices currently fall under HCPCS code E2510 for billing purposes. Once the person has the device in their possession, they can purchase an unlock key from the manufacturer, which is not reimbursable by insurance, and have access to all of the features of the tablet.
The NovaChat comes in three sizes based on Samsung’s 5,”, 7″, and 10″ tablets. The 5″ model can be accessed by the touchscreen, while the 7″ and 10″ models also allow for 1 & 2 switch scanning. Check out these YouTube videos of everything from the clothes dryer test (Don’t try this at home!) to how the device actually works.
Up until recent years, there has been a disappointing lack of functional, affordable hands free telephone systems available for people with physical disabilities. Thankfully, this has now changed and there are an increasing number of options available for people do not have full use of their arms or hands, including phones for quadriplegics.
Home Phones:
1 - The Possum Sero provides a loud speaking, remote control telephone and answering machine with communication aid functions. This hands free phone is packed with many features including communication. You can record phrases onto the phone so that the user can play these when on a call. Making an emergency call is easy, with the touch of a button the help call feature is activated calling contacts of your choosing who can then talk to you via the hands free loud speaker. With caller ID, the voice announcing feature of the Sero! will tell you who's calling. This voice announcing feature extends telling you which button is being activated and the name of a contact in the phone book as you scroll through, which is particularly helpful if using a remote controller.
2 - ABLE-PHONE develops and manufactures Voice Activated Phones and Hands Free Telephones designed to be used by persons with little or no use of their arms and hands such as quadriplegics. All ABLE-PHONE products can be operated without the need to manipulate any type of switch. http://www.ablephone.com
3 - Hands Free Remote Controlled Speakerphone - This Remote Controlled Speakerphone is perfect for Parkinson's patients, people with quadriplegia, Dupuytren's Contractures of the hand, sever Rheumatoid Arthritis, or other mobility and dexterity disabilities that interfere with their ability to hold or dial a phone. With the option of hands free communication, users are able to independently call and talk on the phone for hours. Ideal for use in the home, office or assistive living facilities. http://www.elderstore.com/hands-free-remote-controlled-speakerphone.aspx
Cell Phones:
1 - The NoButtonsHeadset is a must have for anyone who is quadriplegic, has Arthritis, ALS, Cerebral Palsy, Upper Extremity disabilities or any other physical disability or handicap that limits the ability for them to push a button. It is the only Truly "Hands-Free" Bluetooth Cell Phone Headset. http://www.nobuttonsheadset.com
Nell Hardy writes a montly blog about living with ALS. This article is about using her communication device to engage in conversation with her friends and family. Very impactful. ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Via GoErie.com
A group of women met at my house two weekends ago for a silent retreat. They surrendered commitments, cell phones and schedules for six hours. Gingerly, each woman dipped a toe or fingertip in the quiet before immersing themselves in the silence.
I patiently waited for them. I've been speechless for more than a year after amyotrophic lateral sclerosis put me in the ring with pneumonia. I lost and a tracheotomy was performed so I could breathe.
Actually I won because I didn't die, but who's counting?
In the months before the tracheotomy, my words were so garbled that only my sons and a few aides could understand me.
As the muscles in my tongue and throat atrophied, my speech became unintelligible. It wasn't much of a stretch to go from struggling syllables to silence. Sometimes it was even more difficult to no longer laugh or sing.
I tried different speaking valves to coax words out but none worked. Difficulty swallowing, inability to form words and stiffening limbs seemed a trio destined to take me down.
But I'm the runt of the litter. I'm plucky and come from a long line of strong Irish women. I'm determined to savor what my life offers.
Enter secret weapon, stage left. A portable computer called a Dynavox is my main ally in coping with ALS. Attached to my wheelchair, the computer has a screen with letters I choose by blinking at them. Then I select "speak" and words roll forth, framed by a voice of my choosing. Before my voice began changing because of the illness, I spent hours banking my words.
By saying nonsensical phrases such as "a blueberry perched on my pot of ink," the program tried to capture the frills and thrills of a human voice. For me, it fell flat. My words sounded like a different language uttered loudly in a tin can.
A conversation using the Dynavox is, well, different. It simply takes time. On a good day I can eye-type eight words per minute. That's when all variables settle nicely and the Dynavox stars align. Conversing with me involves silence and long pauses. I love the golden layers that quiet spreads between words and phrases.
Speaking through a device presents unique difficulties in our hasty, quick world. I travel at 10 mph in an 80-mph world. Often I finish a sentence only to find the conversation is three subjects ahead.
Others do not like silence; it doesn't fit in our hurried, worried world of instant answers. One friend is a coin jingler. The longer he waits, the deeper his hand plunges into and sifts through a pocketful of change. Others clear their throats, tap toes or actually sidle behind me to read what I type.
Sitting comfortably in silence wasn't always this easy. Before ALS I was a stuffer; I crammed soccer games, child care, horse shows, friendships and self-help into my life.
I wished for a new car, another horse, low-maintenance sons. Rarely did I stop for fear my life would catch up.
But sometimes it takes a crisis to evoke change.
Because of ALS I have downsized, condensed and decluttered my life. I'm finally patient in an impatient world.
NELL HARDY, of Fairview, writes monthly about her battle with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease (nhardy1@mydvox.com).
BCI2000 is a general-purpose software platform for brain-computer interface (BCI) research and other neurotechnology applications that depend on real-time data acquisition, processing, and feedback (www.bci2000.org). BCI2000 has been actively developed, maintained and supported since the project's inception in2000. BCI2000 has been acquired by more than 2700 users around the world and has become the standard software in its field of research. Its use is described in several journal papers, book chapters, a dedicated book published by Springer, in hundreds of pages on the BCI2000 wiki, and in thousands of posts on the BCI2000 bulletin board. In addition to its use for research purposes, BCI2000 has also provided the basis for important emerging clinical applications such as real-time functional mapping or clinical monitoring in intensive care units.
The 10thBCI2000workshop will be held at the Asilomar Conference Center at Pacific Grove, California, from June 2-3, 2013, immediately prior to the Fifth International BCI Meeting. At the workshop, experts in brain-computer interfacing and BCI2000 will give lectures on the relevant technical aspects of the BCI2000 system and provide hands‐on practical tutorials. These tutorials include real-time implementation of BCIs based on sensorimotor rhythms and P300 evoked potentials. The workshop also include exercises, in which participants can learn how to build and configure BCI2000 with their own signal processing methods, applications, or assistive devices. Seven BCI systems will be available throughout the day, and participants will operate them under supervision of tutors.
We look forward to a very exciting and productive workshop, and we hope that you will be able to join us. If you are planning to attend this workshop, please complete the registration form BCI2000 Registration Form. If you have any question, do not hesitate to contact cmpotes@gmail.com with a subject line of "10thBCI2000Workshop."
Thanks,
-- Cristhian Mauricio Potes Doctoral Candidate, Electrical and Computer Eng Research Assistent University of Texas at El Paso Department of Health of New York State, Wadsworth Center Albany Medical Center
Coleman Lab / UCSDScience hasn’t been easy on the paranormal, routinely deflating fantastic claims by hucksters purporting psychic abilities. So wouldn’t it be ironic if scientists were on the verge of making paranormal-like abilities a reality?
Imagine controlling an object with your mind. Or don’t, because you probably already have. I did when I was a (pretty little) kid. It never worked, of course, but boy did I stare daggers at several unsuspecting flower pots, pencils and sticks of chalk.
The trouble, of course, is that your brain works a whole lot better when it’s motivating things it’s actually wired to, say your eyeballs, tongue, fingers or toes. But aha, you’re saying, we have wireless technology in 2013. We live in the future! Can’t we just cut that cord, too? We already have: If you want to get technical about it, when using a handheld remote control with old-school antennae to pilot a hobby-style airplane across a field, you don’t actually touch the radio-controlled plane; the brain-interface includes your hands and the control box. But that assumes you have hands to work with, and working a control box to drive a wireless drone around is hardly “telekinetic” — not half as cool-sounding as it might be if you could simply think that drone into action.
You’ve probably heard of brain implants acting as biomedical prostheses in what’s sometimes referred to as a “brain-computer interface,” allowing someone to manipulate neuroprosthetic arms and legs or simply nudge a mouse cursor using nothing but thought. We’re doing that stuff today. But you’re still talking about interfaces that usually involve invasive technology, often drilled into the skull and attached directly to the brain itself — Jean Grey, it’s not. What if you could reduce the interface to something that didn’t require brain surgery, something not only noninvasive, but roughly the size of a tiny, removable tattoo?
Call it “cerebral cord-cutting.” That’s essentially what Dr. Todd Coleman and fellow researchers at the University of California San Diego are up to, creating “electronic tattoos” capable of interfacing with your brain and wirelessly conveying your thoughts as commands to remote systems and devices. Using what he describes as an “ultrathin conformal” design, Coleman has been developing “foldable, stretchable electrode arrays” that can non-invasively pick up neural signals, EEG-style. Unlike a traditional EEG, which might involve a spaghetti-dinner’s worth of scalp-placed cabling and conductive gel, Coleman’s solution amounts to a tiny piece of pliable skin-like material less than the thickness of a human hair and houses “epidermal electronic” circuitry powered by solar cells or antennae, which also allow it to communicate wirelessly. That’s it up top, a stylin’ body mark that wouldn’t be out of place in a Neal Stephenson or William Gibson novel.
We first noticed Coleman’s work back in 2011, when it was angled more toward diagnostic medical research, the idea being that small, wearable, easily concealed sensors would make keeping tabs on someone’s biological data — say monitoring brain or heart activity — much easier. If you’ve ever worn a holter monitor, for instance, you know what a mess that can be, and while holter technology’s improved ergonomically over the years, imagine how much simpler it might be if you could just slap one of these tattoos on and have it wirelessly transmit information to something like a watch- or smartphone-based diagnostic app (which, in turn, would be capable of relaying that information back to someone else).
And that’s just the start. According to Txchnologist, Coleman and his team of researchers are actively working on creating electronic tattoos capable of manipulating external electronics like remote-control drones (so not really telekinesis, but as sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”).
It gets even wilder. Imagine placing one of these electronic tattoos near your throat, where it might pick up on subvocal muscle movements. When you think about speaking, forming words in your mind, muscles in your throat and tongue actually move in extremely subtle ways undetectable without sensors. Add one of Coleman’s sensor-laced tattoos and not only might you be able to convert those movements into speech, the tattoos could actually relay words to someone (or something) else wirelessly. If your friend across the room has a smartphone capable of receiving the data, plugged into a pair of earbuds, they could actually hear your speech-related thoughts — pseudo-telepathy!
“We’ve demonstrated our sensors can pick up the electrical signals of muscle movements in the throat so that people can communicate just with thought,” says Coleman, adding that the tattoos could also be used to improve speech recognition by giving apps like Siri a subvocal leg up. Again, the notion of remotely conveying speech or controlling objects with the power of your mind alone isn’t new, it’s the idea of creating a noninvasive interface sophisticated enough to measure biological activity accurately without clumsy intermediary cables and gels that’s groundbreaking. Imagine what you might be able to do game-wise in tandem with something like Microsoft‘s Kinect, or Google’s Project Glass, for instance. As Sony EyeToy creator Richard Marks (not the pop singer) once told me, you can do all kinds of things with ergonomically unappealing technology today, but the real trick is designing something that people would actually wear. Tattoo-sized technology sounds like just the ticket.
Where are my reading glasses? The wall panel "LISA" assists elderly people. (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
14.02.2013, Research news
In the future, home-assisted living for the elderly could take a very unusual form. Researchers have developed a system that can track down reading glasses or the front door key, analyze health data, and contact a physician or a call-out service. And the technology to do all this would be embedded in the walls. A smart entrance hall system will be unveiled at the Munich Creative Business Week event on February 20. Custom-designed models for other rooms are already in the pipeline.
Most senior citizens would prefer to live in their own homes for as long as possible. But memory loss and restricted mobility can lead to problems. Items like glasses or the phonebook disappear into thin air, or seniors can find themselves on the wrong side of a locked door after a trip to the shops. Many seniors end up unwilling to set foot outside the door, wary of their ability to get around or simply worried about the weather.
To alleviate these problems, researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM) and partners from the business world have designed a wall panel to assist the elderly in their own homes. A tablet computer is mounted in the wall and this provides a one-stop-shop for all the information they need. The weather forecast, bus timetables, family phone numbers and more can be accessed with a few simple taps on the screen. Indoor positioning system can locate reading glasses The prototype was designed for an entrance hall area and looks like a wardrobe. But this is no ordinary wardrobe. Thanks to its smart technology, it can issue a warning if the apartment’s occupant has not taken the front door key from the keyholder when they open the front door. The wall can keep track of other items that are often mislaid, too. It controls an “indoor positioning system” that can locate a pair of glasses, for example.
If the occupant is not feeling well, biosensors can measure key vital signs like blood pressure and blood sugar level. The system can then issue recommendations − from a spot of exercise to a dose of medication. If the smart wall detects a critical health problem, it will contact a physician or a mobile nursing service. These healthcare professionals could also connect to the terminal to regularly check the elderly person’s health status. The terminal could also be linked to shopping or transport service providers.
The wall unit would also handle building automation functions. An integrated air conditioning unit would keep fresh air circulating if the occupant forgets to air the apartment. Robot brings shopping basket to the kitchen The researchers’ long-term aim is to design similar wall panels for every room. In the kitchen, the smart wall could monitor the stovetop or make meal preparation easier with height-adjustable cupboards. A small assistant in the form of a mobile robot could move between the hallway and the other rooms. It would be able to carry a shopping basket and bring it to the kitchen on command, for example.
The scientists have been careful to promote independence: “We want people to retain as much of their independence as possible,” affirms Prof. Thomas Bock of the TUM Chair of Building Construction and Robotics. “The assistance should only kick in when people are no longer capable of doing something themselves.” For that reason, the walls will have a modular design, with new functions added as and when required.
The assembly includes more than just high-tech features. The researchers remembered to add the usual hall fittings. Along with standard coat hooks, there is also a practical shoehorn at floor level.
LISA project: The “Living independently in Südtirol / Alto Adige (LISA)” project is being headed up by Human Ambient Technologies Lab. The TUM research institutes involved are the Chair of Building Construction and Robotics, the Chair of Philosophy and Science Theory and the recently created Munich Center for Technology in Society. On the business side, the following companies are taking part in the LISA project: MM Design, Frener & Reifer, Kompetenzzentrum Alpines Bauen (KAB), Pfeifer Architekten, TIS Innovation Park and Barth Innenausbau. The project is being supported by the Italian province of South Tyrol. The prototype has already undergone extensive testing and the business partners are keen to launch a finished product in the near future.
Presentation: LISA will be presented during Munich Creative Business Week. Visitors will be able to see for themselves what the smart wall can do. Other innovations to try out will include an armchair-cum-fitness trainer and the “PASSAge” assistance system, which networks walking aids, vehicles and building automation systems. Another interesting exhibit will be a suit which simulates restricted mobility in old age. Experts will be there to talk about how microsystem technology and robotics can solve the problems of our aging society.
“Human Ambient Technologies” Wednesday, February 20 Talks between 14:00 and 16:00, presentations between 16:00 and 18:00 Technische Universität München Building Robotics Lab (room 0710) Arcisstrasse 21 (Theresienstrasse entrance) 80333 Munich, Germany
Contact: Prof. Thomas Bock Technische Universität München Chair of Building Construction and Robotics T: +49 89 289 22100 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting+49 89 289 22100 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting E: thomas.bock@br2.ar.tum.de W: www.br2.ar.tum.de
Where are my reading glasses? A test person and Prof. Kerstin Wessig of the Human Ambient Technologies Lab at the wall panel "LISA". (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
Is the front door key in its box? A test person (r.) and Dr. Christos Georgoulas of the TUM Chair of Building Construction and Robotics at the wall panel "LISA". (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
A test person at the wall panel "LISA". (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
Along with high-tech features the wall panel "LISA" includes a practical shoehorn. (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
Wonderwalls - hidden system supports elderly people at home. (Photo: U. Benz / TUM)
Handwriting-to-speech app helps those with severe language difficulties.
ISpeak4U has announced the availability of HandySpeech, the only handwriting-to-speech application for the iPad.
The assistive technology application supplements or replaces speech for people with spoken language difficulties, such as autism, stuttering, stroke, muscular dystrophy, post-operative voice difficulties, and others. Users write what they want to say in any one of thirteen languages, and the software converts the handwriting into speech.
HandySpeech was created by 12-year-old Eric Zeiberg, who was inspired by his sister, Julie, who has speech disabilities as a result of autism.
From: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne - 01/23/2013
By: Emmanuel Barraud
Researchers demonstrated three non-invasive brain-machine interfaces at the recent Tools for Brain-computer Interaction European (TOBI) research program.
Since 2008, teams from 13 institutions coordinated by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have focused on making better use of signals transmitted by the brain. The researchers presented Robotino, which combines electroencephalography, signal recognition, obstacle sensors, and the Internet to enable physically disabled people to take virtual walks in familiar environments and meet and talk with relatives. Another device, Braintree, is a graphical interface that enables the severely disabled to think in order to write and surf the Internet. The researchers also presented a functional electrical stimulation technique that restores some basic mobility. More than 100 patients suffering from severe motor impairments have tested the technologies, and the results are promising. "The road is still long before the 'turnkey' product is made available to physicians and patients," says EPFL professor and TOBI project coordinator Jose del R.
Millan. "However, we have paved the way for a new critical approach to the physical and social rehabilitation of patients."
Read the entire article and view a video (1:51) at:
By 2025 the Earth will be home to 1.2 billion people aged 60 and older, double the number in 2000. Laurie Orlov, principal analyst at Aging in Place Technology Watch, a market research firm, estimates that the current demand for "aging-at-home" products and services is $2 billion. By 2020 it will have ballooned to $20 billion.
A slew of players are fixed on this massive market (see our slideshow of nine senior-friendly technologies and the brains behind them). In April 2009 General Electric and Intel announced a 5-year, $250 million partnership to develop technology aimed at easing the transition to old age. Massachusetts Institute of Technology is on the case, too: In 1999 it formed AgeLab, a research center within the university's engineering school, to come up with new ideas for the next generation of seniors.
Then there are all the young outfits looking for a piece of the action. Here are a handful:
Omniscient Personal Assistant By age 80, 55% of people have some form of measurable dementia. Attention Control Systems, in Mountain View, Calif., assisted by researchers at the University of Rochester, is developing smartphone software that detects when certain tasks have been forgotten. Users will wear a wristwatch bearing an RFID tag; if the RFID reader detects, say, that the stove hasn't been touched or that the user hasn't gotten out of bed, a soothing voice on their smart phone would remind them. All data would flow to a server accessible online by the user's caregivers. Expected to hit the market in 2012.
Smart Pills Ensuring that older adults take their medication is a constant challenge. Proteus Biomedical in Redwood City, Calif., hopes to help seniors remember by implanting ingestible tracking devices on pills to make them smart. Before it dissolves, the tiny sensor sends a signal to another, band-aid style sensor on the skin, which in turn tells a mobile device when the person took their pill. Proteus has raised $100 million in equity capital, a quarter of it from Novartis. Several clinical trials are underway. Meet the CEO in this video interview.
Driver Ed MIT's AgeLab, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Ford Motor Company are collaborating on systems that give automobile drivers feedback on their skills. The “Aware Car" (an earlier version was called Driving Miss Daisy) would combine software with eye-tracking devices and heart-rate monitors installed around the vehicle to measure driver fatigue and visual responsiveness, and give real-time feedback either through voice cues or color changes. Fatigue awareness is available in some cars now but most other enhancements wouldn't be in cars until 2015.
Robotic Maid Over the next two years, researchers at 11 universities will be trying to perfect a robotic assistant, called PR2, built by Willow Garage, a Menlo Park, Calif. company. Wendy Rogers, a researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology, says that PR2 can move easily and get shorter or taller to pick things up around the house. Willow Garage plans to add sensing and learning capabilities to teach the robot to respond to someone's specific needs. Expected to hit the market in 2013. (For more on breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, check out: "At The Extreme Edge Of Artificial Intelligence.")
Sleep Aid
Sensiotec in Atlanta has designed a bed that acts like a nurse. Its sensors measure vital signs, including heart rate and respiration, and looks for lack of movement in order to prevent bedsores. This information is relayed to the patient's personal health record, accessible from anywhere via the Web. The software looks for patterns and sends any disturbing changes to doctors using mobile software. On sale since June 1. Cost: $3,500.
Individuals with limited mobility and dexterity find it a challenge to towel dry. Contorting to reach their back and legs is frustrating, painful and a safety hazard. Those who submit to assistance, suffer the loss of privacy and dignity. Use the Tornado Body Dryer and dry in pleasure instead of pain!
An Android or Apple mobile device with a communication app for people who have difficulty speaking, such as an iPad with Proloquo2Go, is not a new concept anymore. However, insurance paying for a mobile device with this type of software is not as commonplace. A little over a year ago, Saltillo came out with the NovaChat, a Samsung Tablet and/or Media Player enclosed in a hard-shell case with an external speaker and a sophisticated communication app for both children and adults.
