Adaptive & Individualized AAC

近500万美国人需要辅助和替代沟通（AAC）方法来满足他们的需求。 日常沟通需要。其中一些高需求的人有严重的运动障碍（由于 脑干中风、创伤性脑损伤、格林巴利综合征和脑瘫等疾病， 其他残疾），他们没有灵巧的手来控制AAC技术，需要替代的 访问方法（如眼睛跟踪、头部跟踪或开关扫描）。然而，现有的解决方案需要 必须进行大量维护、频繁重新校准和手动接口修改 在护理者的持续帮助下或通过他们自己的残余运动活动进行补偿。的 适应这些替代通信方法的过度工作量是 放弃AAC，最终剥夺了这一人口的基本通信权利。满足 严重运动障碍者的关键沟通需求，我们提出了第一个AAC 一种包括通用访问方法的设备，该方法自动学习和定制键盘接口， 个体的残余运动功能。在第一阶段，我们确定了发展一个 基于个人光标移动和目标的个性化键盘界面（限于A-Z，空格） 选择能力，使用组合的表面肌电图（sEMG）和惯性（IMU）访问方法放置 在他们的额头上。当在有和没有严重运动障碍的个体中进行评估时，我们的AAC 该解决方案在标准QWERTY键盘上实现了更高的信息传输速率（ITR）。具有 成功地证明了这一概念验证，我们正在与语音研究人员和临床医生合作， 波士顿大学，MA（STEPP实验室的感觉运动康复工程）和麦当娜康复 医院，NE（康复科学与工程研究所），以推进我们的第一阶段系统成为一个预- 商业MyAACTM系统，包括通用的访问方法和个性化的、全面的 通信软件。我们将通过开发硬件来实现这一目标， 身体上的多个点（目标1），设计自动算法以快速创建扩展的AAC 界面，包括字母，数字，符号，表情符号和单词完成选项，基于个性化 关于用户特定接入点的剩余运动功能（目标2），创建用于护理点的软件， 接入技术和接口，并评估由此产生的MyAACTM系统的通信效率 在有严重运动障碍的个体中（目标3）。我们的里程碑将证明MyAACTM 与传统AAC设备相比，改善了ITR和用户体验。最终的MyAACTM交付将很容易 与现有AAC平板电脑和移动的设备集成，为需要替代通信的用户提供 通过自动定制、高效且直观的解决方案， 日常生活

Nearly 5 million Americans require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods to meet their daily communication needs. Some of these high-need individuals have motor impairments so severe (due to conditions such as brainstem stroke, traumatic brain injury, Guillain Barré syndrome, and cerebral palsy, among other disabilities) that they do not have the manual dexterity to control AAC technology and require alternative access methods (such as eye-tracking, head-tracking, or switch-scanning). Existing solutions, however, require extensive maintenance, frequent re-calibrations, and manual interface modifications that must be carried out with continued assistance from a caregiver or by compensating via their own residual motor activity. The excessive workload of adapting to these alternative communication methods are among the leading causes of AAC abandonment, ultimately depriving this population of their fundamental right to communication. To meet the critical communication needs of individuals with severe motor impairments, we propose the first AAC device comprising a versatile access method that automatically learns and customizes a keyboard interface to the residual motor function of the individual. In Phase I, we established the feasibility of developing a personalized keyboard interface (limited to A–Z, space) based on an individual’s cursor movement and target selection abilities using a combined surface electromyographic (sEMG) and inertial (IMU) access method placed on their forehead. When evaluated amongst individuals with and without severe motor impairments, our AAC solution achieved greater information transfer rates (ITRs) over the standard QWERTY keyboard. Having successfully demonstrated this proof-of-concept, we are collaborating with speech researchers and clinicians at Boston University, MA (STEPP Lab for Sensorimotor Rehabilitation Engineering) and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, NE (Institute for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering) to advance our Phase I system into a pre- commercial MyAACTM system comprising versatile access method and personalized, comprehensive communication software. We will achieve this by developing hardware to support streamlined access across multiple points on the body (Aim 1), designing automated algorithms to rapidly create an expanded AAC interface, inclusive of letters, numbers, symbols, emojis, and word completion options, that is personalized based on the residual motor function of user-specific access points (Aim 2), creating software for point-of-care use of the access technology and interface, and evaluating the resulting MyAACTM system for communication efficacy in individuals with severe motor impairments (Aim 3). Our milestone will be to demonstrate that MyAACTM improves ITR and user experience over conventional AAC devices. The final MyAACTM deliverable will be easily integrated with existing AAC tablets and mobile devices to provide those in need of alternative communication methods with an automatically customized, efficient, and intuitive solution to restore communication access in their daily lives.