Brain computer interface: Locked in and reaching new heights

2013

Melanie Fried-Oken
[email protected]
503-494-7587

"My name is Greg, and i had a brainstem stroke 16 years ago. I have locked-in syndrome (LiS). If you did not know me, you would not guess that my cognition is intact. I am totally paralyzed but i have minimal head movement. I do have the ability to look up for ?yes? and down for ?no.? to communicate, I use eye gaze with an alphabet chart. The chart is broken down into seven rows; the first six rows have four letters each and the seventh has the last two letters of the alphabet. My communication partner starts with row 1 (says ?1, 2, 3, 4?) until I gaze up, which means, ?yes, we?re on the right row.? next, my communication partner will call out the letters of the alphabet that correspond to the chosen row (if row 3 is chosen then he will say, ?i, J, k, L?). When the correct letter has been called out i gaze up. This is how I construct words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages. When i?m communicating with someone very proficient, it takes me about 25 minutes to write a paragraph."

AAC

Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals Published/In Press

Professionals

http://www.ussaac.org/images/SpeakUp/SpeakUp12.2011.pdf

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