MedGadget.com recently highlighted a unique nose-controlled wheelchair designed to help severely disabled individuals. It may enable people with severe disabilities to navigate wheelchairs and communicate with their loved ones. The technology that powers the chair? Sniffing -- inhaling and exhaling through the nose. Read Nose Controlled Wheelchair for Severely Disabled.
Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel developed the nose sniff controlled wheelchair and say it has proven to be of practical use for certain severely disabled patients, especially those with what is called "locked-in" syndrome. Sniffing, since it often remains as the sole mechanism with any kind of precise control for the severely disabled, can also serve as a good tool for communication.
According to a press release by Weizmann Institute of Science, the technology is easily mastered, allowing users to navigate a wheelchair around a complex path or play a computer game with about the same speed and accuracy of a mouse or joystick. After just fifteen minutes of practice, a patient who is paralyzed from the neck down managed to navigate a wheelchair through a complex route as well as a non-disabled volunteer. Users were also able to communicate with family members - something they hadn't been able to do for a very long time. Four participants are using a new writing system and there are plans to further develop and distribute the technology.
More on sniffing and "locked-in" patients.
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