Tongue piercings can be more than just a statement; they can also help those who have lost the use of their arms and legs, Reuters reported.
In a study led by Associate Professor Maysam Ghovanloo of the Georgia Institute of Technology, individuals with paralysis were able to use a tongue-controlled technology to access computers and execute commands for their wheelchairs at speeds that were significantly faster than those recorded in sip-and-puff wheelchairs, the most popular assistive technology for controlling a wheelchair, but with equal accuracy.
"It's really easy to understand what the Tongue Drive System can do and what it is good for," Ghovanloo said in a statement. "Now, we have solid proof that people with disabilities can potentially benefit from it."
The Tongue Drive System is controlled by the position of the user's tongue. A magnetic tongue stud lets them use their tongue as a joystick to drive the wheelchair. The sensors in the tongue stud relay the tongue's position to a headset, which then executes up to six commands based on the tongue position.
According to Reuters, the device is controlled by a headset with magnetic field sensors. The headset detects the magnetic tracer on the tongue and transmits wireless signals to a portable computer, which can be carried on the user's clothing or wheelchair.
The device holds promise for patients who have lost the use of their arms and legs, a condition known as tetraplegia or quadriplegia.
Based on the study, the performance of the subjects with tetraplegia using the Tongue Drive System was three times faster than their performance with the sip-and-puff system, but with the same level of accuracy, even though more than half of the patients had years of daily experience with sip-and-puff technology.
"The Tongue Drive System is a novel technology that empowers people with disability to achieve maximum independence at home and in the community by enabling them to drive a power wheelchair and control their environment in a smoother and more intuitive way," Northwestern co-lead investigator Elliot Roth, M.D, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Feinberg and the medical director of the patient recovery unit at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, said in a statement. "The opportunity to use this high-tech innovation to improve the quality of life among people with mobility limitations is very exciting."
In the study, the research team had subjects complete a set of tasks commonly used in similar clinical trials. Subjects in the trials were either able-bodied or people with tetraplegia.
"By the end of the trials, everybody preferred the Tongue Drive System over their current assistive technology," Joy Bruce, manager of Shepherd Center's Spinal Cord Injury Lab and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "It allows them to engage their environment in a way that is otherwise not possible for them."
The Tongue Drive System isn't ready for commercialization, but Ghovanloo's startup company, Bionic Sciences, is working with Georgia Tech to move the technology forward.
