Simple Device Gives Handicapped Patients a New Lease on Life
- 14 years ago
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Imagine you are unable to talk. Unable to move, locked inside your own body. Understanding everything but unable to show signs of awareness. And then imagine all of that suddenly changing.
[Prof. Noam Sobel, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"No event was as profound as that. That was the most profound event."
A new development created by Professor Noam Sobel and a few of his colleges from the Weizmann institute of science, has already changed the lives of several "locked in" syndrome experimental patients.
[Prof. Noam Sobel, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"One of the first patients we worked with was a woman who was locked in for seven months prior because of stroke. She had no communication with the world, and within a few weeks of practicing using our device she wrote a very emotional personal letter to her family. This was a very gratifying moment."
This simple machine translates the changes in nasal pressure into both digital and analog signals. These signals can then function as computer orders and activates a vast domain of instruments such as a writing plate and this sniff- controlled wheelchair.
[Dr.Anton Plotkin, Electronics Engineer, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"So now I will put this rubber tube on my nose, this way. Now actually I'm connected to the USB box and the USB box is connected to the computer, and the computer is already connected to the wheelchair. I will now use my nose to send signals to drive forward, backward, right and left. If I will take a sniff in, you'll see the red sign goes up, if I will take a sniff out you'll see the red sign go down, like that."
The writing plate works in a very similar way. With the ability to mark pause and continue a person who was not able to say a word for years, is able to choose letters on the plate, and write sentences combined into a meaningful letter.
Imagine you are unable to talk. Unable to move, locked inside your own body. Understanding everything but unable to show signs of awareness. And then imagine all of that suddenly changing.
[Prof. Noam Sobel, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"No event was as profound as that. That was the most profound event."
A new development created by Professor Noam Sobel and a few of his colleges from the Weizmann institute of science, has already changed the lives of several "locked in" syndrome experimental patients.
[Prof. Noam Sobel, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"One of the first patients we worked with was a woman who was locked in for seven months prior because of stroke. She had no communication with the world, and within a few weeks of practicing using our device she wrote a very emotional personal letter to her family. This was a very gratifying moment."
This simple machine translates the changes in nasal pressure into both digital and analog signals. These signals can then function as computer orders and activates a vast domain of instruments such as a writing plate and this sniff- controlled wheelchair.
[Dr.Anton Plotkin, Electronics Engineer, Weizmann Institute of Science]:
"So now I will put this rubber tube on my nose, this way. Now actually I'm connected to the USB box and the USB box is connected to the computer, and the computer is already connected to the wheelchair. I will now use my nose to send signals to drive forward, backward, right and left. If I will take a sniff in, you'll see the red sign goes up, if I will take a sniff out you'll see the red sign go down, like that."
The writing plate works in a very similar way. With the ability to mark pause and continue a person who was not able to say a word for years, is able to choose letters on the plate, and write sentences combined into a meaningful letter.