AWARD YEAR
2019
CATEGORY
Body
GOALS
Good Health & Well-being
KEYWORDS
Locked-in syndrome, Disability , application
COUNTRY
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
DESIGNED BY
Amirhossein Mellat
Shamim Shahryari
(Students of industrial design at Iran university of science and technology)
WEBSITE
http://www.linkedin.com/in/pourya-mellat-b74b28180
Application for communication with locked-in syndrome patients
This app allows patients with locked - in syndrome to communicate more easily and say what they want
Locked-in syndrome is a condition in which a patient is aware but can't move or communicate due to complete paralysis of all voluntary muscles in the body except for eye movements and blinking. It is very difficult for patients with locked-in syndrome to communicate and say what they need or want. Currently, one way provided to communicate is that, a nurse keeps a paper in front of the patient. Alphabet letters are written on this paper In order of their frequency. Then the nurse starts reading the letters one by one. Once the nurse reads a letter which is a part of a special word in patient's mind, the patient blinks.Then the nurse writes down that letter. This action goes on until all letters of patient's considered word are written.
This application uses blinking detection technology by tablet camera. Camera recognizes the place where the patient is looking at, and automatically detects what letter the patient is looking at and juxtapositions them all to find the considered word