A Magnetic Wireless Tongue-Computer Interface

Abstract

We have developed a noninvasive, unobtrusive magnetic wireless tongue-computer interface, called "Tongue Drive", to provide people with severe disabilities with flexible and effective computer access and environment control. A small permanent magnet secured on the tongue using a tongue clip, tissue adhesive, or tongue piercing is utilized as a marker to track tongue movements. The magnetic field variations due to the marker movements are detected by an array of magnetic sensors mounted on a headset outside the mouth or an orthodontic brace inside. The sensor outputs are then processed and translated into different user control commands after being wirelessly transmitted to a portable computer (PC or PDA). These commands can be used to access a computer by substituting the mouse or keyboard functions. They can also be customized to operate a powered wheelchair, a phone, or other equipments. For human trials, we have developed a prototype system with 6 direct commands on a baseball helmet and successfully tested it. The Tongue Drive system response time for >95% correctly completed commands is about 1.5 s.