Nine year old Alton “Tre” Arnold, who suffers from a rare disease that leaves him with no control of his limbs and requires him to be fed via a tube, has been able to communicate for the first time and all because of a laptop, some basic software and an electronic device dubbed “Eagle Eyes”.
Up until now, the only way that Tre could communicate with his parents, or anyone else for that matter, was by facial expressions says the news report in the Standard Examiner.
The technology was created and developed at Boston College and is marketed by the Opportunity Foundation of America.
After Tre received his unit, Tre’s father was able to watch his son visually kick a ball into the goals on the laptop screen and smile at his achievement.
“It’s fun to see what’s inside his brain,” he said.
“Without it, we’re just guessing. Now we know he can count from five backwards to one. It stimulates his brain. This is very exciting for us.”
The pathway from Tre’s brain to the laptop screen comes in the form of four electrode cables taped around Tre’s eyes, which can then follow the muscle movements of his face magnified by a factor of 10,000 and transfer that information into the electronic device and onto the laptop screen.
The technology was originally developed for people who could only use their eyes. In a way the eyes operate like a computer mouse. If focus is sustained for a few seconds it activates a single click.
Apparently for those who have witnessed Tre’s response, it is obvious from the look in his eyes that he understands exactly what is happening.
“To see the enjoyment he gets from it … makes any cost worth it,” said Tre’s father, a retired Army helicopter pilot and who currently works as a human resources manager at Comcast.
To purchase Eagle Eyes you need to make a donation of $1,200 to the Opportunity Foundation of America.
Currently only around 20 unites are in use in America but donations will help the Foundation to produce more.
“Many will only ever play basic games. Many will go on to communication boards, and a handful will be able to go on and be educated,” said Debbie Inkley, the founder and executive director of the opportunity foundation for America.
“But that is still light years ahead of sitting in front of the television and doing nothing.”
New technology never ceases to amaze me!
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