Researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Israel have developed a nose sniff controlled wheelchair that has been shown practical for use by severely disabled in a new study published in the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences. Because sniffing often remains as a sole mechanism with any kind of precise control in even many ‘locked-in’ patients, it can also serve as good communication link with the rest of the world.
The fine control of sniffing depends on positioning the soft palate, which is innervated by multiple cranial nerves. This innervation pattern led us to hypothesize that sniffing may remain conserved following severe injury. To test this, we developed a device that measures nasal pressure and converts it into electrical signals. The device enabled sniffs to control an actuator with speed similar to that of a hand using a mouse or joystick. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of device usage revealed a widely distributed neural network, allowing for increased conservation following injury.
Also, device usage shared neural substrates with language production, rendering sniffs a promising bypass mode of communication. Indeed, sniffing allowed completely paralyzed locked-in participants to write text and quadriplegic participants to write text and drive an electric wheelchair. We conclude that redirection of sniff motor programs toward alternative functions allows sniffing to provide a control interface that is fast, accurate, robust, and highly conserved following severe injury.
Press release: Enables Severely Disabled People to Communicate and Steer a Wheelchair by Sniffing…
Abstract in PNAS: Sniffing enables communication and environmental control for the severely disabled