The efficacy and benefits of environmental control systems for the severely disabled.

Background: People living with a severe disability suffer substantial personal and social consequences that reduce quality of life (QOL). One potential negative impact on the QOL of a disabled person is the loss of the ability to control devices in their immediate environment (such as the television, computer, telephones, lights, doors, etc.).

The effectiveness of a hands-free environmental control system for the profoundly disabled.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a hands-free environmental control system (ECS) that allows profoundly disabled persons to activate and control electric devices in their home by using consciously controlled changes in their brain signals.

Design: A cohort study with a field trial testing of the ECS on 3 occasions.

Setting: Participants' homes.