Tongue Drive tech improves wheelchair manoeuvrability

Wired.co.uk states.

The latest prototype of the Tongue Drive System lets users wear a dental retainer embedded with sensors that track the location of a tiny magnet attached to the tongues of users. This is achieved by giving participants a "clinical" tongue piercing and tongue stud containing a tiny magnet embedded in the upper ball.

Science Codex says that, in earlier versions of the Tongue Drive System, the sensors that track the movement of the magnet on the tongue were mounted on a headset worn by the user.

"By moving the sensors inside the mouth, we have created a Tongue Drive System with increased mechanical stability and comfort that is nearly unnoticeable," said Maysam Ghovanloo, an associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

It is hoped the latest model will bring improved performance and user comfort, by removing the need for a headset worn by the user, which tracked the movement of a magnet placed on the tongue, Barchester writes.

The device is essential for many patients who can now interact with their environments and control their movement.