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Tuesday, 26 August 2008 04:55 |
 A new device that uses a tiny magnet can help disabled people steer a wheelchair or operate a computer using only the tip of the tongue.
The magnet, the size of a grain of rice, lets people direct the movement of a cursor across a computer screen or a powered wheelchair around a room.
It is easily implanted under the tongue, the team at the Georgia Institute of Technology said.
A headset with magnetic field sensors detects the magnetic tracer on the tongue and transmits wireless signals to a portable computer, which can be carried on the user's clothing or wheelchair.
The team reported on their device to a meeting of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America in Washington. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 August 2008 05:01 )
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Monday, 25 August 2008 05:48 |
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 A scientific group at the University of Washington (UW) has developed software application that gives deaf and hard-of-hearing people to use sign language over a mobile devices. UW engineers got the phones working together this spring, and received a National Science Foundation grant.
This is the first time two-way real-time video communication has been demonstrated over cell phones in the United States. Since posting a video of the working prototype on YouTube, deaf people around the country have been writing on a daily basis.
For mobile communication, deaf people now communicate by cell phone using text messages. "But the point is you want to be able to communicate in your native language," Riskin said. "For deaf people that's American Sign Language (ASL)."
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Last Updated ( Monday, 25 August 2008 06:10 )
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Monday, 05 May 2008 17:28 |
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 Software analysts and programmers live to innovate—but hate to run tests. Yet top-notch testing saves many a company money when bugs are caught early. A new case coauthored by HBS professor Robert D. Austin describes the secret behind a Danish consultancy's success: The majority of its testers have Asperger syndrome or a form of autism spectrum disorder.
Software testing (QA - Quality Assurance) is important part of software development and requires knowledge and certain skills to perform it propelry. But who is best suited to control and manage the tests? The surprising answer may be found in a group of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). |
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Friday, 22 February 2008 12:03 |
Music listening enhances cognitive recovery and mood after middle cerebral artery stroke
Teppo Särkämö1, Mari Tervaniemi, Sari Laitinen, Anita Forsblom, Seppo Soinila, Mikko Mikkonen1, Taina Autti, Heli M. Silvennoinen, Jaakko Erkkilä, Matti Laine, Isabelle Peretz and Marja Hietanen
Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, and Helsinki Brain Research Centre, Helsinki, Department of Music, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Department of Neurology and Department of Radiology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, 5Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland and 6Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Correspondence to: Teppo Särkämö, MA, Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology, PO Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 20 C), FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland E-mail:
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We know from animal studies that a stimulating and enriched environment can enhance recovery after stroke, but little is known about the effects of an enriched sound environment on recovery from neural damage in humans. In humans, music listening activates a wide-spread bilateral network of brain regions related to attention, semantic processing, memory, motor functions, and emotional processing. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 22 February 2008 12:08 )
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Friday, 25 January 2008 18:06 |
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Medical experts in the North-East believe they could have found the key to turning back the brain’s biological clock and reverse the effects of dementia and memory loss.
Pioneering research at the University of Sunderland has shown that regular exposure to safe low level infra-red light can improve learning performance and kick-start the cognitive function of the brain.
The results are a scientific breakthrough as to date medical treatments for dementia can only slow down brain deterioration and now human trials are to start to see if the treatment could provide a cure to illnesses like Alzheimers.
Independent research carried out at Sunderland has demonstrated that low power infra-red (1072nm) can improve the learning performance.The low levels of infra-red light used are completely safe and occur naturally in sunlight. They are currently being used in innovative new machines for the treatment of cold sores, which have been approved for NHS prescription. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 25 January 2008 18:07 )
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