DerbyCity Area Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.
*** OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
David Allgood - (502) 589-6620
VICE PRESIDENT
Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206
TREASURER
Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865
LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE
Jill Farmer
FUNDRAISING CHAIR
Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER
Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368
PAST PRESIDENT
Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE-
Mike Perry
Kelly Young
NSCIA DERBY CITY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Editor- Barbara Davis
Contributor- David Allgood
Visit Our Website at www.DerbyCitySpinalCord.org
The Derby City Area Chapter Newsletter is brought to you through the generous support of Frazier Rehab Institute
Following articles are from the Internet –ed. VOCAL JOYSTICK
The spinal cord is the main conduit of communication between the brain and the nerves in the body. A spinal cord injury is a disruption in communication to and from the area below the point of injury. Generally, the higher up the spinal injury, the greater the degree of Functional loss. An injury in the lower spine may only affect the limbs and bladder/bowel function. An injury in the neck area can affect the lower and upper limbs as well as the ability to breathe (due to loss of diaphragm function).
According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Information Network, between 227,080 and 300,938 Americans are living with a spinal cord injury. About 12,000 new cases occur each year. Males are affected about 4 times more often than females. The most common causes of spinal cord injury are Motor vehicle crashes (42 percent), falls (27.1 percent), acts of violence (15.3 percent) and sports injury (7.4 percent).
Computers open a doorway to the entire world and provide information and entertainment at the click of a mouse. For people with disabilities, like a spinal cord injury, a computer and internet access can be a lifeline, enabling a user to communicate with others, get vital health information and shop online.
The standard equipment for computer use are a keyboard and a mouse. But people who have limited or no hand mobility are unable to use these tools. Instead, they may rely on one or more adaptive device, or software, like a trackball, a touch pad or touch screen, joystick, head-tracking device or pointer.
Voice recognition software is sometimes used to create documents, input data, surf the internet and control computer functions. However, it takes a considerable amount of training to “teach” the computer to recognize a user’s voice. In addition, the software is very inefficient for continuous tasks and is better suited for short commands.
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a new type of computer access tool, called the Vocal Joystick. The device uses vocal sounds rather than words to control mouse commands. Different vowel sounds make the cursor move in the appropriate direction. Speed of the cursor is controlled by volume. The louder the sound, the faster the cursor moves on a page. Two other sounds, “k” and “ch” substitute for the mouse clicks.
Jeff Blines, Ph.D., Electrical Engineer and Researcher, says little training is needed for the Vocal Joystick. Volunteers that have tested the software learned to navigate the command in just a few minutes. So far, it has been used to play a video game, draw a picture and browse web pages.
