Tongue device to aid disabled

A new device that uses a tiny magnet can help disabled people steer a wheelchair or operate a computer using only the tip of the tongue. The magnet, the size of a grain of rice, lets people direct the movement of a cursor across a computer screen or a powered wheelchair around a room. It is easily implanted under the tongue, the team at the Georgia Institute of Technology said. A headset with magnetic field sensors detects the magnetic tracer on the tongue and transmits wireless signals to a portable computer, which can be carried on the user's clothing or wheelchair. The team reported on their device to a meeting of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America in Washington.

• 2008-07-01T21:07:35+00:00
• Duration: 00:48

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tongue device aid disabled people technologies science body health