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Paralyzed Patients "Speak" With Their Pupils

Posted by samzenpus on from the trying-to-listen dept.

sciencehabit writes "Lying in bed, unable to move a muscle, so-called locked-in patients have few ways to communicate with the outside world. But researchers have now found a way to use the widening and narrowing of the pupils to send a message, potentially helping these patients break the silence. The trick is a webcam-like setup that tracks pupil dilation. When people focus on a hard problem--say a math problem--their pupils dilate. Employing the approach, some locked-in patients could answer 'yes' and 'no' questions just by dilating their eyes."

16 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Why are they even teaching anyone? by ZaMoose · · Score: 5, Funny

    I mean, seriously, paralyzed people would probably be bad candidates for teaching anyone anyth...

    OHHHHH. Those kinds of pupils!

    --
    I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
  2. The first thing I'd "speak" with my pupils by NobleSavage · · Score: 2, Insightful

    KILL ME

    1. Re:The first thing I'd "speak" with my pupils by jovius · · Score: 2

      A movie worth seeing: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

      That's about the first thing the locked-in patient Jean-Dominique Bauby, who wrote a book by blinking his eyes, said. The book is an amazing read, breathtakingly beautiful and intelligent. Bauby died a bit after the book was released..

    2. Re:The first thing I'd "speak" with my pupils by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 2

      JERK ME OFF

      Should I post this anon? Naaaaah.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  3. Why bother with pupil dilation? by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why don't they go straight to neurofeedback? The hardware is getting a lot less expensive.

    --

    Technoli
    1. Re:Why bother with pupil dilation? by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 2

      afaik a lot of those systems work based on tying in to moving an arm or something.

      --
      A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  4. Pike by Master+Moose · · Score: 4, Funny

    With this type of tech, pretty soon we will be able to hook them all up to motorised boxes with a single light that can blink once for yes and twice for no.

    --
    . . .gone when the morning comes
  5. Euthanasia Please by nukenerd · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I sincerely hope that by the time I might get to that state that the idiots who oppose euthanasia have been recognised as the nutjobs that they are and that I can be put out of my misery. If you kept a dog in that state (in the UK at least) you would be prosecuted for cruelty.

    1. Re:Euthanasia Please by trout007 · · Score: 2

      I oppose euthanasia because history shows that time and time again it leads to the devaluing of human life and the horrors it brings with it like eugenics and genocides.

      If you want to kill yourself go ahead. If you want to kill your paralyzed loved one go ahead and face a jury.

      --
      I love Jesus, except for his foreign policy.
  6. What about EEG? by atticus9 · · Score: 2

    It's an interesting approach but it seems like an EEG, that monitors brainwaves and allows control through that would be better, the article touches on that briefly and rules it out as too expensinve/time intensive to setup. But modern EEG's don't really take that much setup and are cheap (you can buy one from NeuroSky for $79 that has one sensor that goes across your forehead and connects through wireless usb for example) I'd much rather see research going on there than pupil dilation.

    1. Re:What about EEG? by dpidcoe · · Score: 2

      I have an Emotive unit, and it's pretty terrible at brainwave detection. What it is slightly better at is detecting the movements of facial muscles. If you use the gyroscope output and then couple that with monitoring something like eyeblinks, you can have a pretty decent hands free headmouse (though it's annoying to have to close your eyes in order to click things). Most of the ~~awesome~~ demos that you see of it on youtube are based on detecting a combination of the gyroscope and facial movements, not actual mental state.

  7. prior art: by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

    I've *always* answered hard questions with a glazed look in my eyes.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  8. Re:paralysis of the eyes by Shadow+of+Eternity · · Score: 3, Informative

    pupil dilation is more akin to peristalsis than blinking.

    --
    A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
  9. Re:Facilitated Communication Hoax by sconeu · · Score: 3, Informative

    Bullshit. It's real. My late wife had ALS, and her eyegaze computer was worth every penny. Even if it wasn't *HER* voice (we didn't bank it early enough), she could still talk with us.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  10. Re:paralysis of the eyes by sconeu · · Score: 2

    They do.

    http://www.tobii.com/en/assistive-technology/north-america/

    Disclaimer: My late wife used a Tobii C17 for communication before she passed away.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  11. Re:Facilitated Communication Hoax by chuckinator · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Thank you for your feedback. I was actually hoping to hear someone with specific experience with these techniques share their impression of the technique.

    Can you expand on your experience with this technique? How did it work in your late wife's case? What was the latency of the communication like due to the obvious bandwidth constraints of this particular medium?