Abstract
Background: To improve the computer operation for people with severe disabilities, more flexible pointing devices are required. This study investigates the effectiveness of a new developed Integrated Pointing Device Apparatus (IPDA), that can integrate numerous commercial pointing devices, for people with severe disabilities. Methods: We collected 20 children with quadriplegic cerebral palsy (CP) and 25 people with high cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI). People with disabilities were classified into 2 groups based on pointing device used: group A1 (SCI) or A2 (CP), who used standard mice, and group B1 (SCI) or B2 (CP), who were unable to use standard mice (IPDA combinations). All subjects received clinical severity and three specific mouseoperating efficiency assessments (continuous clicking, targetacquisition, drag-and-drop tasks). The efficiency of the people with disabilities in each mouse-operation task was expressed as a percentage of that for able-bodied subjects (%NL). The level of statistical significant was set at a value of P less than .05. Results: Group B1 or B2 displayed similar operational efficiency in performing the drag-and-drop tasks to group A1 or A2, although they exhibited worse efficiency than group A1 or A2 in performing the continuous-clicking tasks (P<.05). The use of pointing devices was associated with American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale of people with SCI, and Gross Motor Functional Classification System (GMFCS) of children with CP (P<.05). Conclusion: The IPDA could help most people with severe disabilities who could not utilize commercial mice to achieve acceptable operational efficiencies. Pointing devices were assigned based on the underlying severity.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 3rd Kuala Lumpur International Conference on Biomedical Engineering 2006 |
Editors | Fatimah Ibrahim, Noor Azuan Abu Osman, Juliana Usman, Nahrizul Adib Kadri |
Publisher | Springer Verlag |
Pages | 618-621 |
Number of pages | 4 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783540680161 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2007 |
Event | 3rd Kuala Lumpur International Conference on Biomedical Engineering, Biomed 2006 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Duration: 11 12 2006 → 14 12 2006 |
Publication series
Name | IFMBE Proceedings |
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Volume | 15 |
ISSN (Print) | 1680-0737 |
ISSN (Electronic) | 1433-9277 |
Conference
Conference | 3rd Kuala Lumpur International Conference on Biomedical Engineering, Biomed 2006 |
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Country/Territory | Malaysia |
City | Kuala Lumpur |
Period | 11/12/06 → 14/12/06 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.
Keywords
- Cerebral palsy
- Computer mouse
- Efficiencies
- Pointing devices
- Spinal cord injuries