Freedom after 34 years! Severely disabled man safely drives a power wheelchair using head movements! скачать в хорошем качестве

Freedom after 34 years! Severely disabled man safely drives a power wheelchair using head movements!

Mark is a 34-year old, very intelligent, severely disabled quadriplegic young man who has been captive in his body for 34 years. During those long years, due to an extremely rare disease (glutaric academia, type 1), Mark has been unable to do anything for himself. Throughout the past three decades, parents and therapists repeatedly evaluated various input devices, hoping to find some method that Mark could use to control something—anything. They tried head control, joystick control, touch control, limb movement control, proximity control, eye movement, speech, etc.—all to no avail. Because Mark has very limited and inconsistent muscle control, and his muscles sporadically move involuntarily, any type of input device proved highly impractical. Recently, Mark’s friends and neighbors enabled Mark to actually and safely drive a power wheelchair! They refurbished a used power wheelchair, purchased a space-age head control system, and integrated that system to the power wheelchair electronics. The head control system uses proximity sensors around Mark’s head to sense head position and integrate the movement into a smooth drive control. The system is programmed to accommodate Mark’s inconsistent head position, etc. Amazingly, the electronics totally eliminate jerky movements and allow Mark to drive in the direction he desires! Yes, Mark now has some freedom! In the coming months Mark will practice driving around the cul-de-sac in front of his home. Once he becomes proficient, he hopes to go in his special power wheelchair with his parents to the shopping mall, football games, church, etc.