\ Researchers \ Catch a Wave
Relax. Take a moment. Keep your eyes open and focus on a single spot. Now, distract your mind with calming thoughts about, say, clouds or eating an ice cream cone. That’s how easy it is to produce alpha waves, the electrical brain activity used to control responses to computer software now under development at the University of Victoria, BC.
For people with ALS, the new technology means the ability to communicate, even in the later stages of the disease when they are faced with the complete paralysis known as locked-in syndrome. The alpha waves are detected and amplified by electroencephalograph (EEG) electrodes taped to a subject’s head, and are then translated to a computer as a positive response to a posed question. To block the alpha waves, subjects simply concentrate their thoughts, for example, by focusing on a mathematical task. “It is very easy to teach someone to do this,” says the research group’s director, Dr. Nigel Livingston. “Most subjects master the skill in 10 to 20 minutes.”
Livingston’s disabled daughter inspired his passion to develop special needs technologies. The unique non-profit research group, called the University of Victoria Assistive Technology Team (UVATT), is a collaboration of about 200 researchers from across campus — doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, electrical and mechanical engineers, computer programmers, and many more — who volunteer their time and expertise to develop new devices for people with disabilities.
Mike Pellatt, who was diagnosed with ALS in May of 2001, volunteered to produce alpha waves for the research. “It was tough to do at first,” says Pellatt. “I mean, you’re thinking about not thinking. I finally found that if I tried to think of a single spot or a single light in my mind, I’d produce them very easily.”
Livingston says ideally the system would be introduced to patients before they require it. “I would hope to get people learning how to use it before they need it so that they can become comfortable — so that when they do need it, they can switch and use it quite effectively.”
The group is also developing a system that reads eye movement, with a wider, more efficient range of responses than the yes-or-no answers produced using the brainwave system. ALS patients can use the visual system while they still have control of their eyes. A high-resolution camera positioned about two metres away follows the patient’s retinas and transfers visual commands. Patients can spell out words on an alphabet board, turn a television or radio on or off, or surf the Internet. The plan is to integrate the brainwave system and the visual system so that patients may switch back and forth.
The group is also producing a psychological study to discover what factors are involved in patients’ decisions about whether to go on a respirator when they lose the ability to breathe on their own: If patients knew that there was a communications system that was a quite reliable one, would that influence their decision?
Pellatt is enthusiastic about what the system can do for him and others with ALS. Would he like to use Livingston’s brainwave system when it becomes available? “Most definitely. If there’s a chance for communicating — I mean, just to get the point across that you need to go to the bathroom or have a glass of water... I know how important communication is.”
Livingston plans to soon recruit ALS patients to use the system and report back on their progress. He cautiously speculates the system may become widely available in six months to a year. “It is still in the research and development phase,” he says, “but we are getting closer and closer.”
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Catch a Wave
New technology is allowing locked-in patients to communicate — using their brainwaves.Relax. Take a moment. Keep your eyes open and focus on a single spot. Now, distract your mind with calming thoughts about, say, clouds or eating an ice cream cone. That’s how easy it is to produce alpha waves, the electrical brain activity used to control responses to computer software now under development at the University of Victoria, BC.
For people with ALS, the new technology means the ability to communicate, even in the later stages of the disease when they are faced with the complete paralysis known as locked-in syndrome. The alpha waves are detected and amplified by electroencephalograph (EEG) electrodes taped to a subject’s head, and are then translated to a computer as a positive response to a posed question. To block the alpha waves, subjects simply concentrate their thoughts, for example, by focusing on a mathematical task. “It is very easy to teach someone to do this,” says the research group’s director, Dr. Nigel Livingston. “Most subjects master the skill in 10 to 20 minutes.”
Livingston’s disabled daughter inspired his passion to develop special needs technologies. The unique non-profit research group, called the University of Victoria Assistive Technology Team (UVATT), is a collaboration of about 200 researchers from across campus — doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists, electrical and mechanical engineers, computer programmers, and many more — who volunteer their time and expertise to develop new devices for people with disabilities.
Mike Pellatt, who was diagnosed with ALS in May of 2001, volunteered to produce alpha waves for the research. “It was tough to do at first,” says Pellatt. “I mean, you’re thinking about not thinking. I finally found that if I tried to think of a single spot or a single light in my mind, I’d produce them very easily.”
Livingston says ideally the system would be introduced to patients before they require it. “I would hope to get people learning how to use it before they need it so that they can become comfortable — so that when they do need it, they can switch and use it quite effectively.”
The group is also developing a system that reads eye movement, with a wider, more efficient range of responses than the yes-or-no answers produced using the brainwave system. ALS patients can use the visual system while they still have control of their eyes. A high-resolution camera positioned about two metres away follows the patient’s retinas and transfers visual commands. Patients can spell out words on an alphabet board, turn a television or radio on or off, or surf the Internet. The plan is to integrate the brainwave system and the visual system so that patients may switch back and forth.
The group is also producing a psychological study to discover what factors are involved in patients’ decisions about whether to go on a respirator when they lose the ability to breathe on their own: If patients knew that there was a communications system that was a quite reliable one, would that influence their decision?
Pellatt is enthusiastic about what the system can do for him and others with ALS. Would he like to use Livingston’s brainwave system when it becomes available? “Most definitely. If there’s a chance for communicating — I mean, just to get the point across that you need to go to the bathroom or have a glass of water... I know how important communication is.”
Livingston plans to soon recruit ALS patients to use the system and report back on their progress. He cautiously speculates the system may become widely available in six months to a year. “It is still in the research and development phase,” he says, “but we are getting closer and closer.”
| Posted On: Monday, April 19, 2004 Modified: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 Category: Researchers Posted By: |
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