User Interface for Motor Disabilities Using Near-infrared Light Spectroscopy

Abstract

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients in a completely locked-in state are unable to move any part of their body and have no usual means of communication. A near infrared light spectroscopy-based YES/NO judgment devise is one successful user interface for such patients. However, several remaining problems must be solved. In this paper, we propose a noise reduction method using a two-point detection measurement technique to improve the rate of correct detections. Our experiment results show that this method is useful for ALS patients who have a small signal amplitude caused by mental tasks. We also propose a brain switch technique using Optical Topography. Our experiment results show that the proposed brain switch can be used to control the cursor for auto-scanned cursor character boards.