Professor Prabhat Ranjan demonstrates the uses of brain-computer interface to help quadriplegic patients in India.
USE OF THE DEVICE(PLEASE READ IT FULL)
Suresh Karat, who had a brilliant career after receiving an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad, suffered a brainstem stroke at the very young age of 32, in 1999. This left him severely disabled; he became a quadriplegic (no limb movements) with no speech. He
could read and hear but could not communicate. He could communicate with his wife Jaya only through eye blinks.
Suresh loved to read and go through information available on the Internet but always needed a person to be with him. He wanted to share his thoughts and started writing a blog (http://kesuresh.blogspot.in/). However, this wasn’t easy. He had to tell Jaya what to write using eye blinks. For Jaya, who now had to shoulder all responsibilities (including looking after their son), this was never easy. It helped that Suresh’s batch-mates had formed a trust to financially support him and his family. Many of them were also looking for solutions around the world to help improve his quality of life.
Professor Prabhat Ranjan of the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Gandhinagar himself did not realise the potential of the medium and life altering value it had in the lives of those suffering from cerebral palsy, stroke and debilitating old age. His interest in the technology was sparked when in 2006 he asked his students to take up a research project, to earn a credit point. Two students, Ramya and Pallavi wanted to do something socially meaningful. Visiting institutions of specially challenged they zeroed in on developing a tool that could add functional value to the lives of those who lacked fine finger movement to command simple movements. That work was strengthened by the next batch and by the time the third year rolled in, Prof Ranjan decided to spearhead the initiative with the help of students and engineers to refine the device and expand its usage.
In 2009, the pilot was ready. It drew from the technology that allowed sensors to track wildlife grazing. This was expanded to see how a person with limited mobility could in his physical space, exercise greater independence. Continuous R&D and a lot of back and forth from users helped in the trials. For instance, the team realised it did not make sense to have four remotes for different functions. Instead, there should be one device with different applications. So, presently, what Sun Technovation, the company he has set up, sells is two prototypes. One is the Mini-CePal which is an integrated device and the other, RF (radio frequency) CePal which is split into two parts - one which sits on the hand and the other a base station fixed in the room
USE OF THE DEVICE(PLEASE READ IT FULL)
Suresh Karat, who had a brilliant career after receiving an MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad, suffered a brainstem stroke at the very young age of 32, in 1999. This left him severely disabled; he became a quadriplegic (no limb movements) with no speech. He
could read and hear but could not communicate. He could communicate with his wife Jaya only through eye blinks.
Suresh loved to read and go through information available on the Internet but always needed a person to be with him. He wanted to share his thoughts and started writing a blog (http://kesuresh.blogspot.in/). However, this wasn’t easy. He had to tell Jaya what to write using eye blinks. For Jaya, who now had to shoulder all responsibilities (including looking after their son), this was never easy. It helped that Suresh’s batch-mates had formed a trust to financially support him and his family. Many of them were also looking for solutions around the world to help improve his quality of life.
Professor Prabhat Ranjan of the Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology in Gandhinagar himself did not realise the potential of the medium and life altering value it had in the lives of those suffering from cerebral palsy, stroke and debilitating old age. His interest in the technology was sparked when in 2006 he asked his students to take up a research project, to earn a credit point. Two students, Ramya and Pallavi wanted to do something socially meaningful. Visiting institutions of specially challenged they zeroed in on developing a tool that could add functional value to the lives of those who lacked fine finger movement to command simple movements. That work was strengthened by the next batch and by the time the third year rolled in, Prof Ranjan decided to spearhead the initiative with the help of students and engineers to refine the device and expand its usage.
In 2009, the pilot was ready. It drew from the technology that allowed sensors to track wildlife grazing. This was expanded to see how a person with limited mobility could in his physical space, exercise greater independence. Continuous R&D and a lot of back and forth from users helped in the trials. For instance, the team realised it did not make sense to have four remotes for different functions. Instead, there should be one device with different applications. So, presently, what Sun Technovation, the company he has set up, sells is two prototypes. One is the Mini-CePal which is an integrated device and the other, RF (radio frequency) CePal which is split into two parts - one which sits on the hand and the other a base station fixed in the room
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