The Tongue Drive System (
TDS) is a wireless and wearable
assistive technology, designed to allow individuals with severe motor impairments such as
tetraplegia to access their environment using voluntary tongue motion. Previous
TDS trials used a magnetic tracer temporarily attached to the top surface of the tongue with
tissue adhesive. We investigated
TDS efficacy for controlling a computer and driving a powered wheelchair in two groups of able-bodied subjects and a group of volunteers with
spinal cord injury (SCI) at C6 or above. All participants received a magnetic tongue barbell and used the
TDS for five to six consecutive sessions. The performance of the group was compared for
TDS versus keypad and
TDS versus a sip-and-puff device (SnP) using accepted measures of speed and accuracy. All performance measures improved over the course of the trial. The gap between keypad and
TDS performance narrowed for able-bodied subjects. Despite participants with SCI already having familiarity with the SnP, their performance measures were up to three times better with the
TDS than with the SnP and continued to improve.
TDS flexibility and the inherent characteristics of the human tongue enabled individuals with high-level motor impairments to access computers and drive wheelchairs at speeds that were faster than traditional
assistive technologies but with comparable accuracy.