A Tongue Piercing Gives Quadriplegics Greater Control Over Wheelchairs [Video]

A clinical study has shown that a latest Tongue-Controlled Wheelchair works better than a standard wheelchair control system. The new system could help quadriplegics drive their wheelchairs with greater ease.

In the current system, magnetic studs placed in the user's tongue acts as a joystick. The tongue's position is sensed by detectors and sent to a headset. The headset can execute about six different commands based on the tongue's position. The system was designed by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers and colleagues.

"Tongue piercing put to medical use - who would have thought it? It is needed and it works!" Anne Laumann, M.D., professor of dermatology at Feinberg and a lead author said in a news release.

Currently, people who've lost both hands and legs rely on wheelchairs controlled by a sip-and-puff system. In this system, users need to sip or puff air in a straw to move around.

Clinical tests showed that attaching the sensor to the tongue works better than the sip-puff method.

People with paralysis were more comfortable using the latest system. On an average, the performance of quadriplegic patients using Tongue Drive System was three times faster than the sip-puff system.

There were 11 patients in the study and at least half of them had used sip-and-puff technology on a daily basis. Researchers also conducted the clinical trials on able-bodied people to test the system. The team found that able-bodied people found it easier to enter commands using the tongue when compared to a keypad-mouse system.

The tongue has a special place in the brain as it is used extensively in speech. The tongue is mostly unaffected in spinal cord injuries as it is directly controlled by brain, BBC reported.

"The Tongue Drive System is a novel technology that empowers people with disability to achieve maximum independence at home and in the community by enabling them to drive a power wheelchair and control their environment in a smoother and more intuitive way. The opportunity to use this high-tech innovation to improve the quality of life among people with mobility limitations is very exciting," said Elliot Roth, M.D, medical director of the patient recovery unit at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and a study author, according to a news release.

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Scientists around the world are trying to create systems that could enable people to control machines with their minds. A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine had recently developed "the human-like robot arm" that is controlled by the brain, according to a news release.