Tongue control of a five-DOF upper-limb exoskeleton rehabilitates drinking and eating for individuals with severe disabilities

• Published in: International journal of human-computer studies Vol. 170; p. 102962
• Main Authors: Mohammadi, Mostafa, Knoche, Hendrik, Thøgersen, Mikkel, Bengtson, Stefan Hein, Kobbelgaard, Frederik Victor, Gull, Muhammad Ahsan, Bentsen, Bo, Severinsen, Kåre Eg, Khan, Benjamin Yamin Ali, Andreasen Struijk, Lotte N.S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2023
• Subjects: Assistive devices; Disabled individuals; Human–robot interaction; Rehabilitation robotics; Tongue–computer interface; Upper limb exoskeleton; Disabled individuals; Rehabilitation robotics; Upper limb exoskeleton; Human–robot interaction; Assistive devices; Tongue–computer interface
• ISSN: 1071-5819; 1095-9300
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2022.102962

Upper limb exoskeletons (ULEs) are robotic devices that can mobilize a severely disabled individual’s arm and help the user perform some activities of daily living independently. Despite advancement in the mechanical design of ULEs, a versatile control interface that enables full and continuous control of a ULE with multiple degrees of freedom for a user with disability in both arms and legs (tetraplegia) still requires further research and development. In this study, ten individuals with tetraplegia used a tongue-based interface to fully control a five degrees of freedom ULE for a drinking and a snacking task. This required moving the ULE hand from a wheelchair armrest position to grasp an object (bottle or strawberry) placed on a table in front of the participant, moving the object towards them until it touched a face shield, and placing the object on the table. All participants successfully controlled the exoskeleton and completed the tasks. The drinking task lasted 149.6 s on the first day and 122.9 s (median) on the second day of using the exoskeleton. The participants performed the snacking task only on the first day of ULE use and achieved a median task time of 167.0 s. The study showed that the tongue interface could provide effective, efficient, and safe control of the exoskeleton. •Tongue-Exoskeleton Interface rehabilitates ADLs in users with complete tetraplegia.•Tongue-Exoskeleton Interface enables full continuous control of a 5-DOF exoskeleton.•Ten individuals with tetraplegia performed drinking and snacking with the EXOTIC.•This clinical evaluation of the interface proved feasibility and safety of the EXOTIC.