Lightspot operated typewriter for severely disabled patients
article
The typewriter described is designed for patients such a quadriplegics who have little residual muscular function but have some control of the neck muscles. The complete system consists of: light source with optics mounted on a pair of spectacles; control panel with a matrix of characters, each of which is provided with a light-sensitive element; time-delay control unit, necessary in generating a type command; interface between the control panel and typewriter in order to energise the solenoids connected with the letter bars of the typewriter; electrically driven typewriter. The patient is able to move a lightspot originating from the light source mounted on a pair of spectacles, across a control panel. This panel is localized in front of the patient at a distance of 1m. By positioning the lightspot on one of the elements of the matrix for a certain preselected time, the patient is able to activate one of the characters or other operation functions of the typewriter. Should the illumination time be shorter than that preselected, the character will not be typed. In this way, the patient is able to move randomly across the control panel from one element to another without typing.
Topics
TNO Identifier
227446
Source
Medical & Biological Engineering, 11(5), pp. 641-644.
Pages
641-644
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