A Humanitarian Engineering Problem

zrosener asks: "A have a friend who has ALS (Stephen Hawking's ailment), a particularly nasty disease in which her motor neurons deteriorate over time, slowly waylaying her. She is in pretty bad shape now, and her movement is restricted to moving her eyes, and very limited (1 inch in each direction) hand movement. She has very light bell that she uses to wake up her husband when she needs assistance, but as her strength wanes it is becoming less and less effective. She is afraid at night now that if something were to go wrong she would not be able to rouse her husband. My challenge to you is to design a noise-making-husband-alerting device cheaply and quickly assembled from strip mall parts (Radioshack, Walmart, etc.) that she could use with her extremely restricted movement. Buttons are out of the questions, as are anything that requires gripping. Analog answers are encouraged too! Please email all suggestions or post them."

Similar to lie detector

[Anonymous Coward]

two separate contacts on the skin, near each other. When in trouble, sweat a bit, closes the circuit = light, sound, whatever.

My idea - steal it and make the world better.

[Anonymous Coward]

Infra-red camera that detects heat from exhaled breath. Hold your breath for a certain amount of time (or die) and the monitoring system triggers an alarm that drops a load of bells onto the husband from a trapdoor above his bed.

?

Re:Complete the circut Switch with two metal plate

[RollingThunder]

Possibly even easier, depending on teh reliability of her muscle control, is a pair of finger cymbals. Each is connected to one side of the wire - tap them together, on it goes.

Hair trigger alarm

[fdiv(1,0)]

As long as she has limited hand movement, build on it. Someone else here suggested buying one of those loud annoying "I'm being mugged" alarms...by default these are designed so that when contact is made, the alarm is silent, but when contact is broken (by yanking a pin/headphone jack from a plastic housing), it is loud as hell. Break apart the device and instead of breaking contact when a pin is janked from the housing, solder a couple wires to the contacts on the alarm, and have the wires barely held together (probably vertically), so that if she moves her hand, it causes them to seperate, and thus open the circuit and trigger the alarm.

Just my $0.02 USD.

optical or sip/puff switches

[marcgul]

I used to work at Dynavox [dynavoxsys.com] -- they make augmentative communication devices for people who have ALS among other ailments.
While most people accessed the devices (made them talk) by touching the touch panel, some people used sip/puff or optical switches (among other types of switches) to activate the devices.

The tash mercury switch bottom of this page [tashinc.com] might be an option, also look into proximity switches.

use a computer...

[theperplepigg]

hmm, suppose the husband has a computer. now, suppose he is asleep, so the computer is not doing much (seti and whatnot aside). now suppose the wife has a wireless mouse. suppose, now, software (screensaver-like thingy) is running on the computer so that when there is a slight movement of the mouse, it pops up, plays your favorite mp3 (or least favorite, if you want the poor guy to actually get up)

so, if the guy has a computer, he only needs to get a wireless mouse (or a long enough wire, perhaps would also work...) if he has that, then all he needs is this software, which i'm sure could be written by any number of people on here very easily and quickly.

--paul

Cheep-cheep bird.

[Anonymous Coward]

How about those Made-in-Taiwan cheep-cheep birds? they got two metal sensors on the bottom, so when you cup one in your hand it starts to cheep, just due to skin contact. Simply flip it over, and if you drop your hand on it, "CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP!"

Touch lamp.

[dnoyeb]

Several things come to mind

1. touch lamp technology.
2. motion detector.
3. interrupting the path of a lazer.
4. galvonic (sp?)response, skin voltage detector.

Simple Solutions

[Milo_Mindbender]

Take a piezo buzzer or Sonaralert (if you want something LOUD) and wire it to a standard-issue microswitch. You can get microswitches with actuators that are a short piece of metal about the size of a ball-point-pen clip. Actuation force can be VERY tiny (grams) with motion as little as 1/8 to 1/4 inch.

Some versions with cat-whisker actuators are also avaiable, just a bit of wire sticking straight up that you give a push in any direction. You can build something similar out of a couple of paper clips if you want REAL cheap.

You could add a latch/time circuit so you wouldn't have to keep the switch depressed, ie: a quick press would sound the alarm for some set period of time.

There are also preassembled photosensors with a light source and sensor and a gap between the two, stick a finger between them and it triggers, zero force required.

I've also seen the microswitch thing work as a blink/squint sensor. You stick the wire actuator to the skin above/below the eye and a good squint will trigger it.

One last idea, shine a low-power IR led at the corner of the eye, read the reflection brightness with a photocell. Now looking to that side causes the colored part of the eye to reduce the reflected light, triggering the sensor.

The biggest problem with running something off the eyebrow or eye look/blink is usually preventing it from going off by accident, or if the person goes to sleep.

There are also devices that actuate by sucking/blowing on a straw or pushing with the toung or chin...though these don't work so well if you're on a respirator.

Re:Sort-of button idea

[payotr]

I have seen those buttons often in elevators here in Europe, they don't need any pressure, just touching them makes a difference of potential, between the button and ground and activates a very simple circuit with an Operational Amplifier and a transistor. The only drawback is that they don't work with globes or with dielectric matherials. (Skin is obviously ok). So I think those are cheap and easy to get. In order to be useful: a buzzer should be attached to the switch ( a domestic buzzer will do ) or to a electrical switch if the buzzer exceeds the amperage of the presureless switch. I think it would be interesting to make it able to use a battery just in case the lights go off and she has to call for assistance. Assembling the parts shouldn't be difficult. I hope it helps. Pedro Larroy

Re:Breath Button

[Anonymous Coward]

air switch, easily available from any old washing machine

Slingshot armbrace?

[photon317]

Both conductive touch sensors and tripping light beams are good ideas, mentioned multiply above. In both cases all parts can be had at radio shack, and check out the Mini Engineer's Notebooks by Forrest Mims for circuit designs for both (also sold at Radio Shack). They used to come as seperate small thin booklets, but I think recently they've compiled them all into one larger book.

In either case you'll probably want to mount the device to her hand/arm so that her finger/wrist movement (whichever is still available) is always in range of the touch/light sensor. If you're doing it on the cheap, you might look around the sporting goods section of walmart (or a sports store like Oshmans or whatever) for mounting hardware. One thing that comes to mind is the professional-style slinghots that have a brace going back over the forearm, I'm sure there's lots more material to work from around there like medical wrist supports with the metal band that goes up under the wrist and whatnot.

If you're worried about your device failing on her, and both hands work - you could build two devices, mount one on each arm, and encourage her to alternate using them so she knows they both work. You could take redundancy a step further by making one of them light-based and the other touch-based, in case one or the other designs fails in some wierd circumstance.

Did you guys read the story at all?

[skookum]

Clearly, the author said that buttons and anything that requires gripping is out of the question. I'd say about a quarter of the responses here fail on this account.

I think you should get out your yellow pages and look under the "Accessability" section, and get in contact with some people that know what they're talking about. (Surely she's already got some specialized equipment for her condition so I'm sure this has already happened.)

Having said that, it makes an interesting Ask Slashdot, so here's my take. I like the puff/sip tube ideas, but if that isn't practical I would look into somehow signaling with eye movement or blinks. Again I'm sure they sell such things but since the question was how to do it on a shoestring budget (?!) I'll bite.

I would first find some sort of non-toxic paint that glows under a blacklight. A common yellow highligher would do, but there are others that glow with more contrast. Paint dots (or some other symbol) on the eyelids. Mount a small fluorescent blacklight somewhere near the headboard so that the dots glow brightly. Mount a cheap webcam somewhere in the line of sight of the wife. Now rig some software to recognise some pattern of blinks.

The idea is that if she is in trouble, she looks directly into the webcam (probably mounted on the ceiling, or otherwise in her line of sight) and blinks a pattern. The paint on the eyelids should provide enough contrast with the blacklight so that it's easy to signal process -- there would be high contrast with the rest of the scene, and the unique hue should be easy to spot. If she can open and close the eyelids fully (i.e., blink) it should provide a pretty good signal. The rest is dorking around with software and processing, but hey, this is Slashdot right?

Heart rate.

[Rip!ey]

Breaking light beams and retinal scans all rely on movement to some degree. The problem is that movement is what she is losing. So how about heart rate monitoring?

Since she is *very* sedentary, her heart rate should be reasonably stable, within a small tolerence. The point is, it it possible to ones alter heart through thought process alone. As an example, if she starts to stress, it should rise. You could even set up the volume of a bell proportional to the magnitude of the rate, or the rate of change itself.

I'm thinking along the lines of those sensors they clip on a finger in hospital as a pickup, then a bit of signal processing. It's also the sort of thing you should be able to buy, instead of hacking together a cheap gadget.

Eye movement tracking + computer

[Anonymous Coward]

Use an eye movement tracking device connected to a computer, so that she can move a mouse pointer on the screen and "press" buttons on a gui just by blinking an eye for more than a second (to avoid false alarms). Then write a simple app that based on which button was pressed plays a sound, calls an emergency number or activate any other device connected to the computer.
X10-like stuff can do the rest.

And.. even if it may sound trollish or just funny, I'm damn serious about that. Please just don't do the above under any Windows operating system if you can't provide a reliable way to allow her pressing ctrl+alt+del on the computer.

Best luck to your friend.

pressure-sensitive mouse "pad"

[AlexPGP]

I'm at a loss to recall the name of the product, but there is a standalone version of those grey pads that are mouse replacements on laptops.

Rubbing your finger on these things, even lightly, causes a mouse to move, and tapping the pad is like clicking the left button.

I seem to recall the sensitivity can be set very high, so you wouldn't need much motion or pressure.

Good luck.

Cheers...

This should be left to AT Speech Therapists

[Tin0men]

This has been an interesting read. It is interesting to see how techie/engineer types would look at the solution to this problem. I could suggest a solution but I'd be cheating.

My wife is a Speech & Language Pathologist who is also a Assistive Technology Practitioner. This basically means she is certified in AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) & AT (Assistive Technology). This problem is the very thing covered by this field. They work with anyone who's verbal communication skills are lacking for what ever reason, no matter the physical or cognitive handicap.

I've seen the devices created for such problems both with children and the elderly. It usually involves foam, some wires and a battery operated device. Simple, easy to use and just as important, cheap. Many of the suggestions posted thus far have been over engineered.

Now, on the tech side of things. This profession could use some help with small devices (PDA size) and a free OS (you choose). There is a device on the market that allows a patient to select pictures to form sentences (or phrases). Currently they are in the thousands of dollars and insurances don't always cover the cost. Typically for children the parents sue the school district and the district is forced to make the purchase with next year's funds (read: higher taxes). It would be nice if cheaper alternatives were available.

Re:how about a photodetector?

[meatspray]

an ir emmiter and detector circuit made of parts from da shack should last quite some time even on a AA battery, to get more mileage slap in a 6v lantern battery and it should go on for months on end.

you can find plans to make the circuit at the following website

http://www.reconnsworld.com/ir_ultrasonic_basici rd etectemit.html

Another ALS Sufferer

[clockwise_music]

Another ALS sufferer is Jason Becker. He was an awesome guitarist until this crippling disease struck him down. You might want to consider trying to get in touch with him: http://www.jasonbecker.com/. Good luck.

Use a Microphone, amplifier and speaker.

[Anonymous Coward]

Put the microphone under a hand. Set the gain control to produce enough noise when the microphone is rubbed or tapped. The speaker goes next to whoever has to wake up. To eliminate wires, connect the microphone to a small FM transmitter. Use an FM radio at the output end. Anyone who has accidently rubbed a lapel microphone knows the effect.

Off the shelf portable biofeedback monitor, $500

[Local Loop]

I suggest a portable biofeedback monitor. My GF uses one for muscle problems. They have a light, relatively small sensor that can be taped to the skin. When the muscle underneath is tensed, the alarm goes off - and the trigger level is widely adjustable.

The device she uses is walkman sized and cost about $500 from a company in Canada. The brand name is Myotrac.

Any working muscle will do and the thing is very sensitive, with gain as well as level controls. And very easy to use. Google turns up lots of hits, here's the manufacturers URL: http://www.thoughttechnology.com/myotrac.htm [thoughttechnology.com]

As a bonus, the engineers answer the phone and will gladly discuss your intended use.

Re:ALS is not a fatal disease... WRONG

[jazz_hunter]

ALS is fatal in almost all instances. Mr Hawking is one of the very rare cases of ALS where the disease has plateaued. How comfortable would you be with a vent down your throat, unable to move yourself, having someone else wash and bathe you, etc and let's not forget the periodic bouts of pnumonia. ALS is by no means "comfortable"

MacGuyver!

[Phybersyk0]

I was thinking that you could break open a mouse (mechanical, not optical) and connect the y-axis to a series of small gears to a tiny fan blade (from a discarded laptop perhaps) the diameter of which being about the size of an US Quarter-dollar coin. Mount the fan into a near-size pvc tube. you'll just need the blades, becuase it a basic rotor, so that when she inhales, it turns the gears, moving the cursor UP, and when she exhales, it moves the cursor down...
mount the assembly on a telescopic-boom (like a $20 microphone stand)

If you felt so inclined, you could mount a second pipe for the other axis and increase your options...

set up a simple pc that runs a dedicated macromedia flash file, and now when the cursor moves you can communicate basic wants/needs that are setup as onmouseover routines...
inhaling makes the cursor move up. exhaling makes the cursor move down.

also depending on her skill with the device you could set up chorded strings of commands... like
I Want...(y-axis) Water...(x-axis)
perhaps you could come up with some time-out function that would automatically re-center the cursor so that she doesn't frustrate herself with all the blowing...

this does depend on her ability to control her breathing, however.. you may want to try two commands first, like "water" or "bathroom" then you could advance to "good morning" or "I love you"...