MIND BLOWN! A few years ago, what is being worked on today was considered space age fantasy!
USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPACT LIVING WITH ALS
The various speakers at this session each stated, “It’s never too early and never too late to ask questions about assistive devices!” and “ALS takes so much from you. Technology helps you get it back.”
There are sooo many gadgets and devices that can be used to improve quality of life and keep pALS safe. Just ask your neurologist or, if you attend multidisciplinary care clinics, ask any of the specialists you visit with.
A very small sample of what’s available:
THE FUTURE OF AI AND ALS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of research in computer science that develops and studies methods and software that enable machines to perceive their environment and use learning and intelligence to take actions that maximize their chances of achieving defined goals. In regard to ALS, it is predicted that AI will:
BrainGate: Using a surface or implanted brain computer interface, BrainGate is working to:
University of Pittsburgh/Syncron: The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will participate in a clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of a new brain-computer interface called Stentrode (developed by Synchron, Inc.).
ControlBionics:
Pison Technology is working on assistive technology for communication that is life-changing for people with ALS. It will help them become more independent and participate more actively with their family and community; have access to the Internet, which provides an outlet to meet others for additional support; and communicate more easily about medical decisions, their feelings, requests, and opinions. The technology:
USING TECHNOLOGY TO IMPACT LIVING WITH ALS
The various speakers at this session each stated, “It’s never too early and never too late to ask questions about assistive devices!” and “ALS takes so much from you. Technology helps you get it back.”
There are sooo many gadgets and devices that can be used to improve quality of life and keep pALS safe. Just ask your neurologist or, if you attend multidisciplinary care clinics, ask any of the specialists you visit with.
A very small sample of what’s available:
- Eye Gaze technology can be used to convert eye movements into speech or text. It can also be used with Ability Drive to control a power wheelchair, television, smart home hubs, and home safety. This technology helps increase autonomy and independence.
- Cellphones and computers can be adapted for use.
- Headmice, trackballs, and trackpads can make using a computer or tablet easier.
- Lowe’s Livable Homes can do in-person or virtual assessments to make recommendations on how to modify rooms for your specific needs.
THE FUTURE OF AI AND ALS
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of research in computer science that develops and studies methods and software that enable machines to perceive their environment and use learning and intelligence to take actions that maximize their chances of achieving defined goals. In regard to ALS, it is predicted that AI will:
- Teach us what we don’t know about ALS
- Discover and predict exactly how drugs and therapeutics affect and change the body
- Aid in early identification and diagnosis
- Decrease misdiagnosis (Currently 40% of the patients eventually diagnosed with ALS had an earlier misdiagnosis)
- Create predictive algorithms that can assess the patient and offer next steps and questions to ask
- Use voice recording changes to predict disease progression
- Reevaluate health data for individual patients and data collected by health organizations
BrainGate: Using a surface or implanted brain computer interface, BrainGate is working to:
- Develop technologies that would re-enable the ability to control a cursor on a computer screen or to type on a virtual keyboard simply by thinking about the movement of one’s own hand (Example: as if controlling a computer mouse).
- Develop a system to restore fluent communication. They are learning how to decode intended speech directly from the cortex and use those signals to pair with text-generating or synthetic speech generating devices.
University of Pittsburgh/Syncron: The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC will participate in a clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of a new brain-computer interface called Stentrode (developed by Synchron, Inc.).
- The Stentrode is implanted through a minimally invasive procedure using a catheter (think stent) to place the device in a large vessel near the brain’s primary motor cortex. Its technology picks up brain signals, then transmits them to a small unit placed in the chest. The chest device is connected to an external receiver that converts the brain signals into commands and sends them wirelessly to a computer, allowing the patient to control the computer through thought. In other words, ultimately a person’s thoughts can control a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. See https://synchronbci.com/ for more information.
ControlBionics:
- They have developed a wearable sensor that gives the user the ability to access their technology by bioelectric or the smallest spatial movements to access their computer, phone, tablet, and more. This helps reduce user fatigue while increasing communication speed
- Their DROVE wheelchair module for power wheelchairs allows users to move their chairs from room to room autonomously and precisely using only neural signals.
Pison Technology is working on assistive technology for communication that is life-changing for people with ALS. It will help them become more independent and participate more actively with their family and community; have access to the Internet, which provides an outlet to meet others for additional support; and communicate more easily about medical decisions, their feelings, requests, and opinions. The technology:
- The brain’s motor cortex transmits signals throughout the central nervous system, then
- Skin surface electrodes at the wrist detect small electrical signals from the brain as they travel through muscles and nerves, and finally
- AI algorithms translate signals from the brain into machine-interpretable events.
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