Sensory Therapy Gives Some Hope for Cerebral Palsy Patients

Cerebral palsy and other people who suffer from brain or spinal cord injury who have difficulty verbally communicating could get help from a new technology in development. This new technology could allow people with cerebral palsy to communicate with other people through a synthesized voice.

"The Audeo" uses an electromyographic-type sensor to pick up electrical signals on the throat and processes those signals into text, synthesized words or commands for a computer or electronically controlled wheelechair or other device. Developers of the new system, Ambient Corp., said that it hopes to use it to help individuals disabled by such diseases as cerebral palsy and traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.

Ambient's electromyographic-type sensor will fit around the user's neck like a scarf. It will pick up the electrical signals from the nerves near the surface of the skin. It then uses an A/D converter and an on-board microcontroller, along with software to process the incoming signals, and then send them to an output.

Designers noted that the ALS and cerebral palsy sufferers, in particular, could benefit from the new technology. Many cerebral palsy patients can still use their throat muscles but cannot squeeze enough air out of their lungs to generate audible speech. As such, some patients are ultimately forced to communicate by blinking their eyes.

By reading the signals from the appropriate throat muscles, The Audeo could enable such patients to communicate with audio and words.