Optimizing communication devices for children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy

优化运动障碍性脑瘫儿童的通讯设备

• 批准号: 8011764
• 负责人: Terence D Sanger
• 金额: $ 34.48万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-07-01 至 2013-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8011764
• 关键词: Athetoid cerebral palsy; Child; Communication Aids for Disabled

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Children who have serious speech or writing impediments struggle every day with the simplest of communication tasks most of us take for granted. Over 500,000 children in the US require assistive technology to communicate and 20-60% of these children may require special-purpose keyboards, screens, or software to communicate with computers and computer-controlled assistive devices. For children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP and severe arm movement disorders, devices such as adapted keyboards, programmable touch-screens, and joystick interfaces may be their most important communication link to their families, friends, teachers, and caregivers. However, these devices are so difficult to use that communication is often extremely slow and laborious and often results in high levels of frustration for the children using them. Additionally, because every child with CP presents differently, no one device is optimized for a particular child's impairments. Therefore, our goal for this study is to address the critical need for improved assisted communication devices and to optimize the interface design for each individual child. Two of the most common computer-based interface devices are touch- screen and joystick controllers. We propose to use a set of recently-developed techniques based on information theory and Bayesian signal processing to optimize the design of touch- screen interfaces and joystick controllers for children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy that impairs hand movement. Optimization of the touch-screen device will be based upon measurement of the speed, accuracy, and error rate of individual children as they reach to targets of varying size, spacing, and number. Optimization of the joystick device will make use of the complete path of the joystick as the child approaches the target. We have developed a new algorithm that can efficiently use Bayesian nonlinear filtering to estimate the intended target of the joystick early in the movement. This estimation significantly improves performance, but it introduces a tradeoff between speed and accuracy when children have variable movements. Therefore we must measure speed, accuracy, and error rate as a function of target size and spacing for the joystick as well. Bradykinesia (slow movement) and Hyperkinesia (increased variable movement) are common impairments of children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy that will affect performance on both devices. We will quantify these impairments and determine their affect on communication device use and optimization. Finally, we will test whether implementation of improved interfaces can increase the rate of communication. This study will provide essential quantitative links between disorders of movement and disorders of assisted communication for children with the dyskinetic form of cerebral palsy. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Up to 60% of children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy depend on computer-based assistive communication devices to talk with parents or friends and to participate in school. There is currently no reliable method for determining the best touch-screen layout for individual children. We will perform detailed testing of individual children and combine the results with a model of information processing in order to find the best possible design of a touch-screen or joystick interface that will maximize the speed of communication in children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

描述（由申请人提供）：每天都有认真的言语或写作障碍的儿童与我们大多数人认为理所当然的最简单的沟通任务斗争。在美国，超过500,000名儿童需要辅助技术进行交流，其中20-60％的儿童可能需要特殊用途的键盘，屏幕或软件来与计算机和计算机控制的辅助设备进行通信。 For children with dyskinetic cerebral palsy (CP and severe arm movement disorders, devices such as adapted keyboards, programmable touch-screens, and joystick interfaces may be their most important communication link to their families, friends, teachers, and caregivers. However, these devices are so difficult to use that communication is often extremely slow and laborious and often results in high levels of frustration for the children using them. Additionally, because every child with CP presents不同的是，没有一个设备对特定的孩子的障碍进行优化，因此我们的研究是解决改进的辅助通信设备的关键需求，并优化每个孩子的界面设计。具有运动障碍的脑瘫的儿童的控制器会损害触摸屏装置的优化。非线性过滤在运动早期估算操纵杆的预期目标。大脑麻痹将影响两种设备的性能。大脑麻痹依靠基于计算机的辅助沟通设备与父母或朋友交谈并参加学校。麻痹。