A Blink-based Communication (BLINC) System for Patients in Bed

描述（由申请人提供）：简介：基于眨眼的通信（BLINC）系统将允许任何保留视力控制的患者可靠地发出求助信号，并向护理人员传达基本请求。它使用红外（IR）摄像头和照明器来连续监视床上的病人，即使在黑暗的房间里也能检测到眨眼信号。它经过专门设计，所有组件，包括摄像头和照明器，都可以放置在一个很大的距离，使其易于使用和最小的侵入。该系统最初的目标是帮助ALS患者，他们通常失去几乎所有的自主肌肉控制，但经常保持眼球控制。BLINC系统将提供现有技术极难或不可能提供的基本和必要的通信能力，最终目标是改善严重受损患者的生活质量。解决的问题：BLINC系统不需要将任何组件放置在患者附近，也不需要在每次患者躺在床上或重新定位时进行定位或配置。该系统解决了当前高端增强和替代通信（AAC）设备中的显著能力差距，该设备有效地利用眼科能力进行通信，但需要将设备直接放置在患者面部前方并且非常接近，这在所有设置中是不实际的。专门的按钮和开关可以提供一个简单的呼叫铃，但这些需要一定程度的肌肉控制，必须小心地放置在靠近每次移动病人。I期结果：I期试验通过涉及健康受试者的人类参与者测试成功地证明了该方法的可行性。实现了一个原型BLINC系统，该系统实时检测眨眼信号（一系列四次眨眼，每次约两秒）并激活音频信号。测试表明，在95%的置信水平下，系统准确度超过了第一阶段95%的目标。超过99%的特异性也表明，有意眨眼信号可以可靠地区分正常眼睑运动，包括自发眨眼。II期总结：拟议的第二阶段工程将建立在成功的第一阶段原型系统的基础上，扩大通信能力，增强系统的鲁棒性。增强功能将确保对更广泛的用户姿势、用户位置和照明条件的鲁棒性。第二阶段人类参与者测试将分两个阶段涉及ALS患者，首先在非常受控的诊所环境中评估系统准确性，其次在患者家中进行多日试验，评估可用性和误报率。第二阶段的一个重要方面将涉及护理人员，以便从患者和护理人员的角度理解可用性，这是整个系统接受的关键因素。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Introduction: The Blink-based Communication (BLINC) System will allow any patient who retains oculomotor control to reliably signal for assistance and communicate basic requests to a caregiver. It uses infrared (IR) cameras and illuminators to continuously monitor a patient in bed, and to detect blink signals even in a dark room. It is specifically designed so that all components, including the cameras and illuminators, can be placed at a significant standoff distance, making it easy to use and minimally intrusive. The system is initially targeted to help ALS patients, who commonly lose virtually all voluntary muscle control but frequently do retain oculomotor control. The BLINC System will provide access to basic and essential communication capabilities that can be extremely difficult or impossible to provide with existing technology, with an ultimate goal of improving quality of life for severely impaired patients. Problems Addressed: The BLINC System will not require any components to be placed in close proximity to the patient, or to be positioned or configured each time a patient is placed in bed or repositioned. The system addresses a significant capability gap in current high-end Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, which effectively leverage oculomotor capabilities for communication, but require the device to be placed directly in front of the patient's face and in close proximity, which is not practical in al settings. Specialized buttons and switches can provide a simple call bell, but these require a degree of muscle control and must be carefully placed in close proximity each time a patient is moved. Phase I Results: The Phase I e ort successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the approach through human participant tests involving healthy subjects. A prototype BLINC System was implemented that detected blink signals (a sequence of four blinks of approximately two seconds each) in real-time and activated an audio signal. The tests showed at the 95% confidence level that the system accuracy exceeded the 95% target for Phase I. A specificity of over 99% also demonstrated that intentional blink signals could be reliably discriminated from normal eyelid movements including spontaneous blinks. Phase II Summary: The proposed Phase II e ort will build on the successful Phase I prototype system, expanding the set of communication capabilities, and enhancing the robustness of the system. Enhancements will ensure robustness to a wider range of user poses, user positions, and lighting conditions. Phase II human participant tests will involve ALS patients in two stages, first assessing system accuracy in a very controlled clinic setting, and second assessing usability and false alarm rates in multi-day trials in patient's homes. An important aspect of Phase II will be involving caregiver so that usability can be understood from both the patient and caregiver perspective, a key factor in overall system acceptance.