RESEARCHERS say people with high-level spinal cord injuries will be able to use an iPod or iPhone connected to tongue controls to operate a computer and manoeuvre their wheelchairs.
At the heart of the development by engineers in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology is the Tongue Drive System.
The Tongue Drive System is a wireless device installed inside the mouth, providing control over devices and electric wheelchairs by movements of the tongue.
The latest prototype of the system involves a dental retainer embedded with magnetic field sensors. A tongue piercing holds a magnet, which is used to control the system. The Tongue Drive System is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and the retainer holds an induction coil to charge the battery.
The circuitry fits in the space available on the retainer, which sits against the roof of the mouth and is covered with an insulating, water-resistant material and vacuum-molded inside standard dental acrylic.
The researchers presented the system at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco on 20 February 2012.
The signals from the sensors are wirelessly transmitted to an Apple iPod or iPhone, with the installed App on the devices interpreting the tongue position as commands. This information can then be used to position a cursor on a computer, or manipulate the movement of a powered wheelchair.