Article

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility and usability of an assistive technology
(AT) prototype designed to be operated with conventional/alternative input
channels and a P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) in order to provide
users who have different degrees of muscular impairment resulting from
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with communication and environmental control
applications. DESIGN:
Proof-of-principle study with a convenience sample.
SETTING: An apartment-like space designed to be fully accessible by people with
motor disabilities for occupational therapy, placed in a neurologic
rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: End-users with ALS (N=8; 5 men, 3 women;
mean age +/- SD, 60 +/- 12 y) recruited by a clinical team from an ALS center.
INTERVENTIONS: Three experimental conditions based on (1) a widely validated
P300-based BCI alone; (2) the AT prototype operated by a conventional/alternative
input device tailored to the specific end-user's residual motor abilities; and
(3) the AT prototype accessed by a P300-based BCI. These 3 conditions were
presented to all participants in 3 different sessions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
System usability was evaluated in terms of effectiveness (accuracy), efficiency
(written symbol rate, time for correct selection, workload), and end-user
satisfaction (overall satisfaction) domains. A comparison of the data collected
in the 3 conditions was performed. RESULTS: Effectiveness and end-user
satisfaction did not significantly differ among the 3 experimental conditions.
Condition III was less efficient than condition II as expressed by the longer
time for correct selection. CONCLUSIONS: A BCI can be used as an input channel to
access an AT by persons with ALS, with no significant reduction of usability.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS