Safety and efficacy of medically performed tongue piercing in people with tetraplegia for use with tongue-operated assistive technology.

Background: Individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries need effective ways to perform activities.

Objectives: To develop and test a medically supervised tongue-piercing protocol and the wearing of a magnet-containing tongue barbell for use with the Tongue Drive System (TDS) in persons with tetraplegia.

Methods: Volunteers with tetraplegia underwent initial screening sessions using a magnet glued on the tongue to activate and use the TDS.

Assessment of the Tongue-Drive System Using a Computer, a Smartphone, and a Powered-Wheelchair by People With Tetraplegia.

Tongue-Drive System (TDS) is a wireless and wearable assistive technology that enables people with severe disabilities to control their computers, wheelchairs, and smartphones using voluntary tongue motion. To evaluate the efficacy of the TDS, several experiments were conducted, in which the performance of nine able-bodied (AB) participants using a mouse, a keypad, and the TDS, as well as a cohort of 11 participants with tetraplegia (TP) using the TDS, were observed and compared. Experiments included the Fitts' law tapping, wheelchair driving, phone-dialing, and weight-shifting tasks over five to six consecutive sessions.

Qualitative assessment of tongue drive system by people with high-level spinal cord injury.

The Tongue Drive System (TDS) is a minimally invasive, wireless, and wearable assistive technology (AT) that enables people with severe disabilities to control their environments using tongue motion. TDS translates specific tongue gestures into commands by sensing the magnetic field created by a small magnetic tracer applied to the user's tongue. We have previously quantitatively evaluated the TDS for accessing computers and powered wheelchairs, demonstrating its usability.

The tongue enables computer and wheelchair control for people with spinal cord injury.

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.

Effects of gender on inpatient rehabilitation outcomes in the elderly with incomplete paraplegia from nontraumatic spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine gender differences in rehabilitation outcomes for patients with nontraumatic spinal cord injury.

Research Design: Secondary analysis was conducted on Medicare beneficiary data from 65 to 74 year olds with incomplete paraplegia discharged from inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 2002 through 2005.

Main Outcome Measures: Length of stay, Functional Independence Measure instrument motor item and subscale scores on discharge, and discharge destination.

Effects of etiology on inpatient rehabilitation outcomes in 65- to 74-year-old patients with incomplete paraplegia from a nontraumatic spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine differences in rehabilitation outcomes for older patients with a nontraumatic spinal cord injury (NT-SCI) for 5 etiologic diagnoses: degenerative spinal disease (DSD), malignant spinal tumor, benign spinal tumor, vascular ischemia, and spinal abscess.

Design: Retrospective cohort study that used Medicare claims and assessment data.

Setting: A total of 479 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units.

Promote pressure ulcer healing in individuals with spinal cord injury using an individualized cyclic pressure-relief protocol.

Objective: To evaluate whether an individualized cyclic pressure-relief protocol accelerates wound healing in wheelchair users with established pressure ulcers (PrUs).

Design: Randomized controlled study.

Setting: Spinal cord injury clinics.

Periodically relieving ischial sitting load to decrease the risk of pressure ulcers.

Objective: To investigate the relieving effect on interface pressure of an alternate sitting protocol involving a sitting posture that reduces ischial support.

Design: Repeated measures in 2 protocols on 3 groups of subjects.

Setting: Laboratory.