What is the Tongue Drive System?
The Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a revolutionary system developed by a team at Georgia Tech, led by Maysam Ghovanloo. It is basically a wireless device that allows users (usually with high-level spinal cord injuries) to operate a computer mouse or even a powered wheelchair by simple moving their tongue. The latest development of the TDS enables users to wear a dental retainer embedded with sensors to control the system. These sensors will track the location of a tiny magnet attached to the tongue of the user. In earlier versions of the TDS, the sensors were mounted on a headset worn by the user instead of a dental retainer.
Ghovanloo has recruited 11 individuals with a spinal cord injury to test the latest version of the TDS. The participants sustained a clinical tongue piercing and tongue stud that contained a tiny magnet in the upper ball. They repeated two test sessions per week during a six week period that would assess their ability to use the TDS to operate a computer and navigate an electric wheelchair through an obstacle course. The results were that users had been able to learn how to use the system, move the computer cursor quicker and with more accuracy, and also maneuver through the obstacle course faster and with fewer collisions. "We expect even better results in the future when trail participants begin to use the TDS on a daily basis" said Ghovanloo.
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