A system providing disabled persons with control of various assistive devices with the tongue has been developed at Aalborg University in Denmark. The system requires an activation unit attached to the tongue with a small piercing. The aim of this study was to establish and evaluate a safe and tolerable procedure for medical tongue piercing and to evaluate the expected and perceived procedural discomfort.
Four tetraplegic subjects volunteered for the study. A surgical protocol for a safe insertion of a tongue barbell piercing was presented using sterilized instruments and piercing parts. Moreover, post-procedural observations of participant complications such as bleeding, edema, and infection were recorded. Finally, procedural discomforts were monitored by VAS scores of pain, changes in taste and speech as well as problems related to hitting the teeth.
The piercings were all successfully inserted in less than 5 min and the pain level was moderate compared with oral injections. No bleeding, infection, embedding of the piercing, or tooth/gingival injuries were encountered; a moderate edema was found in one case without affecting the speech. In two cases the piercing rod later had to be replaced by a shorter rod, because participants complained that the rod hit their teeth. The replacements prevented further problems. Moreover, loosening of balls was encountered, which could be prevented with the addition of dental glue. No cases of swallowing or aspiration of the piercing parts were recorded.
Tongue Piercings: Your Complete Guide Including Healing Time And Cost
The procedure proved simple, fast, and safe for insertion of tongue piercings for tetraplegic subjects in a clinical setting. The procedure represented several precautions in order to avoid risks in these susceptible participants with possible co-morbidity. No serious complications were encountered, and the procedure was found tolerable to the participants. The procedure may be used in future studies with tongue piercings being a prerequisite for similar systems, and this may include insertion in an out-patient setting.
Current assistive devices for tetraplegics offer text input and control of a pointing device at different levels depending on the principles employed for their activation[1]. Further, they include different trade-offs related to user preferences such as unconstrained movements and aesthetic factors. Sip-n-puff systems provide a good proportional control (i.e., both speed and direction in real time) of a pointing device. This also applies to a chin joystick as well as a head control system. However, an onscreen keyboard is required to input text. Furthermore, face muscles have been used in systems generating on-off switch commands. However, users of these systems often report induced muscle fatigue and pain as main drawbacks. Speech recognition systems provide a remarkable text input and assure a minimal constraint for the user[2, 3], but correction of false commands still needs to be addressed in the further development of these systems. Moreover, eye control systems provide a good proportional control of pointing devices, but limitations occur in low or changing light[4, 5]. Brain computer interfaces have received increasing interest for control of assistive devices[6], though technical challenges still remain regarding the practical implementation in daily life due to a rather low detection rate of user intentions. Practically invisible when used, intra-oral tongue controlled systems have been developed using switch arrays, pressure, resistive, capacitive, magnetic or optical sensors embedded in a palatal brace[7–11]. Nevertheless, the extraordinary flexibility of the tongue has not been fully exploited for providing both direct text input and proportional control of a pointing device.
A new tongue control system has been developed at Aalborg University in Denmark. This assistive device gives individuals with severe sensory-motor impairment and lost function of the limbs a possibility to directly type text or to proportionally control a pointing device in order to control, e.g., electrical wheelchairs or personal computers with the tip of the tongue[12–19]. This system consists of a dental brace in the upper jaw encapsulating two pads of inductive sensors, a rechargeable battery and electronics. The inductive sensors are activated by changing their inductance using an activation unit consisting of a small cylindrical piece of soft ferromagnetic metal. This activation unit is attached to the tongue as the upper ball of a piercing (Figure 1), and it activates a given sensor in the sensor pad whenever it is positioned by the tongue at a specific sensor.
Your Most Common Questions About Tongue Piercings Answered
Inductive tongue control system (modified from [[12]] with permission, © 2006 IEEE): (A) Placement of sensors (c) , dental brace (b) and activation unit (a) , (B) Activation unit attached to the tongue as the upper ball of a piercing, (C) Principle of activation for inductive sensors; perturbation of the magnetic field of the sensor by the activation unit induces an activation signal back into the sensor, and (D) The upper jaw dental brace placed on a plaster model.
The induced activation signals are further processed and interpreted by the embedded electronics and sent wirelessly to an external unit to control the respective disability aids. A combination of induced signals from adjacent sensors makes it possible to continuously detect the position of the activation unit when gliding along the pad surface. Extended functionality has been obtained with both sensor pads when typing text (e.g., implementation of backspace, enter or arrows, besides a full alphabet keyboard similar to that of a mobile phone) in the so-called “text mode”, or when controlling the pointing device (e.g., right and left click and scrolling, besides a multidirectional and variable speed joystick) in the so-called “mouse mode”. A visual feedback continuously assists the user by showing the position of the activation unit when using the system which greatly improves the sensor activation and reduces the false activation rate.
The text input results of our system at rates between 1.68 and 2.94 correct words per minute (cwpm) have been obtained by subjects with tetraplegia after just three days of training[15]. These results may be much improved with longer training periods providing a better knowledge of the system and thereby improved user reaction time. Healthy subjects already accustomed to a cosmetic piercing of the tongue have been able to control the system from the first day in a surprising manner. Furthermore, in a study using a previous version of the system, induced cortical plasticity has been shown after a short period of training suggesting that the ability to perform specific tongue movements may be improved[16]. Alternative interfaces allow text input at rates of 12.1 cwpm for head control systems, 9.36 for eye control, 8 for mouse stick and 4 for tongue keypad systems. A speech recognition technique promises up to 120 wpm and a brain computer interface 12 cwpm[1]. Thus, the overall functionality of our tongue control system has shown promising results.
Available Oral Piercings
Furthermore, subjects have evaluated the tongue control system as easy to use and wear, and cosmetically acceptable. The subjects scored the system between 1 and 3 on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = no discomfort and 10 = highest discomfort) for typing and pointing tasks as well as when talking or drinking with the mouthpiece[15].
The tongue piercing plays a vital role as the activation unit of the tongue control system. The word piercing is commonly used in connection with cosmetic body piercings involving the piercing of the human skin or mucosa and preparation of a duct in the underlying tissue with a sharp instrument followed by the insertion of a metal or composite ring or stud. Oral piercings mainly consist of two types: 1) a barbell consisting of a rod with a removable ball in each end or, 2) a labret consisting of a rod with a fixed disc at one end and a removable ball at the other end. The procedure of a cosmetic piercing insertion is usually not associated with medical procedures, and piercings are most often performed under unregulated circumstances in, e.g., tattoo shops and private homes, and there have been several reports about side effects like bleeding, swelling, infection, tooth fracture and abrasion[20–22]. The literature is sparse on information about piercing equipment, procedures and the magnitude of the discomfort of the procedure as well as during the healing period.
Since subjects eligible for tongue control systems are mostly tetraplegics, who are susceptible individuals with comorbidity such as decreased respiratory capacity and airway reflexes, the tongue piercing may pose an additional risk, thus demanding a safe and tolerable procedure. This paper describes a clinical technique developed for the insertion of a titanium barbell into the tongue including its safety precautions and complications. In addition, the discomfort perceived by the subjects during the procedure and the healing period was also evaluated.
Paired Tongue Piercings 101
The study was aimed at subjects suffering from tetraplegia with various clinical backgrounds such as muscle dystrophy, cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury. The subjects were to have a good control of their tongue as well as normal cognitive skills and a high motivation for the study. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, heart disease or other medical problems assessed to contraindicate the surgical procedure as well as a subsequent period of tests of the tongue control system. Patients with cognitive impairments as well as dental problems that could interfere with the study were also excluded.
Four tetraplegic subjects volunteered for this study. Two of these subjects suffered from previous traumatic injury of
Furthermore, subjects have evaluated the tongue control system as easy to use and wear, and cosmetically acceptable. The subjects scored the system between 1 and 3 on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = no discomfort and 10 = highest discomfort) for typing and pointing tasks as well as when talking or drinking with the mouthpiece[15].
The tongue piercing plays a vital role as the activation unit of the tongue control system. The word piercing is commonly used in connection with cosmetic body piercings involving the piercing of the human skin or mucosa and preparation of a duct in the underlying tissue with a sharp instrument followed by the insertion of a metal or composite ring or stud. Oral piercings mainly consist of two types: 1) a barbell consisting of a rod with a removable ball in each end or, 2) a labret consisting of a rod with a fixed disc at one end and a removable ball at the other end. The procedure of a cosmetic piercing insertion is usually not associated with medical procedures, and piercings are most often performed under unregulated circumstances in, e.g., tattoo shops and private homes, and there have been several reports about side effects like bleeding, swelling, infection, tooth fracture and abrasion[20–22]. The literature is sparse on information about piercing equipment, procedures and the magnitude of the discomfort of the procedure as well as during the healing period.
Since subjects eligible for tongue control systems are mostly tetraplegics, who are susceptible individuals with comorbidity such as decreased respiratory capacity and airway reflexes, the tongue piercing may pose an additional risk, thus demanding a safe and tolerable procedure. This paper describes a clinical technique developed for the insertion of a titanium barbell into the tongue including its safety precautions and complications. In addition, the discomfort perceived by the subjects during the procedure and the healing period was also evaluated.
Paired Tongue Piercings 101
The study was aimed at subjects suffering from tetraplegia with various clinical backgrounds such as muscle dystrophy, cerebral palsy or spinal cord injury. The subjects were to have a good control of their tongue as well as normal cognitive skills and a high motivation for the study. Exclusion criteria were pregnancy, heart disease or other medical problems assessed to contraindicate the surgical procedure as well as a subsequent period of tests of the tongue control system. Patients with cognitive impairments as well as dental problems that could interfere with the study were also excluded.
Four tetraplegic subjects volunteered for this study. Two of these subjects suffered from previous traumatic injury of
0 Komentar