Ambient assisted living for tetraplegic people by means of an electronic system based on a novel sensory headwear : Increased possibilities for reduced abilities

Tetraplegic people suffer from motor disabilities that severely compromise their autonomy. The assistive technologies can importantly support these people increasing their independence, decreasing need for assistance, and, therefore, enhancing their quality of life. Within this frame, the most welcome technology is the one that allows increasing independence with self-care. Specifically, we propose a novel sensory-headwearbased system for self-access to environmental control, aimed at overcoming caregiver need for tetraplegic people. The system comprises a headwear with motion sensors, electronic elaboration units, radio-frequency trans-receivers, software with a simplified graphical user interface, and hardware actuators. With such a system, the subject can select icons on a screen by means of his/her head movements. Each icon corresponds to a physically actuated action within his/her home environment or work place. Moreover, the subject can autonomously drive a motorized actuator, as a wheelchair.