The EyeControl Project

 

The Background:

ALS patients represent a subgroup of people with fully functional cognitive abilities who gradually lose their speech and the use of their upper limbs, and cannot communicate with their environment due to physical limitations (they’re locked-in).

The existing communication means are expensive, cumbersome to calibrate, but mostly not mobile. Even if a patient can afford to buy them, those tools cannot be used without a dedicated computer. These means limit the communications to times when patients are in front of the screen and cannot be used when in bed, on the go (perhaps on a wheelchair), in the car etc. This limits the patients and can endanger their lives.

 

The Mission:

Improve the life quality of locked-in patients by providing a relatively cheap, accessible, automatically calibrated and mobile mean of communication with their surroundings.

 

The Solution:

An infrared camera connected to a simple glasses frame which identifies blinks and pupils movement.

The camera will communicate with a small Odroid-like computer. It will translate the movement of the user’s eyes into commands which will output in sound, to earphones and to a speaker. In addition, it will transmit these to a smartphone via bluetooth. The smartphone will run applications which will enable the patient to communicate.

We’ve developed an algorithm which automatically calibrates the device, so the patient does not need assistance in order to do that.

We provide a 3-step solution:

• An alert sound, calling for assistance.

• Choosing from predefined sentences (e.g. “I’m hot”, “My hand hurts”, “I need to pee”).

• Composing sentences using boards which resemble the alphabet, then playing them via a speaker.

 

Making a Difference:

Currently there are no funds from the government or private insurances for the existing means.
Our innovation is a revolution for the patients! It will enable communication anytime, anywhere.
It will bring them some of their long lost independence back!