Researchers Advance Remote Monitoring Systems for the Elderly
[Image courtesy of Michael Mulvey / DMN, thanks Travis]
handicap posts
[Image courtesy of Michael Mulvey / DMN, thanks Travis]
Man Learning to Speak Through Computer
We've all seen or heard footage Stephen Hawking using an interface on his wheelchair to speak, but he's relying on his limited ability to move in order to construct those sentences. 25-year-old Erik Ramsey tragically suffered an accident that left him unable to control any part of his body except for one thing: looking up and down. That was nearly nine years ago, and he's now undergoing training with a device wired directly into his brain that may allow him to speak again -- without moving a muscle.
Dr. Philip Kennedy, at the Office of Neural Signals in Duluth, Minnesota, is using Ramsey as his partner in developing a new neural speech technology. Kennedy sent Ramsey through an MRI and watched the patterns in his brain as he mentally vocalized saying different sounds. He's now working with Ramsey to train a computer, monitoring for activity in those areas of his brain and turning that into speech. Ramsey still can't put together words, but is able to make simple syllabic sounds after about a year of training. We'll be following this one in the hopes that he'll actually be able to speak in the not-too-distant future. [From: Esquire, via boing-boing]
Dr. Philip Kennedy, at the Office of Neural Signals in Duluth, Minnesota, is using Ramsey as his partner in developing a new neural speech technology. Kennedy sent Ramsey through an MRI and watched the patterns in his brain as he mentally vocalized saying different sounds. He's now working with Ramsey to train a computer, monitoring for activity in those areas of his brain and turning that into speech. Ramsey still can't put together words, but is able to make simple syllabic sounds after about a year of training. We'll be following this one in the hopes that he'll actually be able to speak in the not-too-distant future. [From: Esquire, via boing-boing]
MIT Developing Wheelchair That Listens When You Speak
In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as "head to the kitchen," and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they'd like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects.
Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We're totally feeling this over the Segway.
[From: MIT via medGadget]
ReWalk Exoskeleton Helps Paraplegics Walk (Video)
In the video waiting in the read link, one particular individual relies on the ReWalk to stand up and move about after being stricken to a wheelchair for 20 years -- no need to take our word for it, though, real live proof is but a click away. [Source: Israel21c Via MedGadget]
Web App Brings the Internet to the Blind
The Internet is supposed to be the great equalizer. Race, color, creed, class, and physical handicap are supposed to of no impediment on the Web. Unfortunately, the blind face great obstacles in getting online, especially from public computers, like those in a library or Internet cafe. Screen reading software is rarely installed on these PCs, and portable options are often prohibitively expensive.
A new Web app from a graduate student at the University of Washington aims to help break down these barriers by bringing screen reading technology to any Web-connected computer. If the user can navigate, or have someone navigate, to http://Webanywhere.cs.washington.edu/ they'll be able to launch an in-browser screen reader. The reader, called Web Anywhere, will work on any computer with any modern Web browser, such as Firefox or Internet Explorer 7.
The reader is still in early development and needs some tweaking, but it looks to be a potentially revolutionary tool for the blind. You can check out the video above for a demonstration of how the Web app works. It's nice to see someone using the powerful tools made available via the Web to build something that does more than let you share photos and 'poke' friends. [Source: Yahoo! News]
Researchers Devise Neural Implant That Learns Over Time
Put simply, researchers have discovered a method that would enable brain-machine interfaces to "adapt to a person's behavior over time and use the knowledge to help complete a task more efficiently." Until now, the brain was the instrument doing all the talking while the computer simply accepted commands; with this method, "the computer could have a say in that conversation, too."
In all seriousness, this type of learning mechanism could be game-changing in the world of physical therapy, but we hesitate to give something mechanical inside of our body too much free will, ya dig? [Source: University of Florida News via Physorg]
_thumbnail.jpg "Vintage Keyboards")
