An Environmental Control System for ALS Patient Using Finger Movement

Chao Zhang¹, Masatomo Shibata¹, Keisuke Takashima¹, Jiangli Yu¹, Takakazu Ishimatsu¹, Joel Palomino²

¹Nagasaki University Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
²Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru.

DOI: 10.4236/mme.2015.54012                

Abstract

ALS is a degenerative disease which affects the patients muscular activity in feet and hands, leading to a bed ridden status. The loss of independency affects their will to live, for this reason an environmental control system to handle the home appliances and make telephone calls is proposed. The system uses a tablet as a visual human interface so that the patient can select the desired appliance by selecting the corresponding item on the tablet screen. Based on the remaining patient’s abilities an input device that detects slight finger movement is proposed. In this paper three types of input devices are considered and their performance is evaluated by four ALS patients. Their comments about the usage of the devices are discussed in this work. Finally the environmental control was implemented on an ALS patient home and their impressions were satisfactory for the patients, relatives and care-givers.

Keywords

Environmental Control, ALS patient, Input Device, Touch Sensor, Pressure Sensor

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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