Artificial Tongue-Placed Tactile Biofeedback for perceptual supplementation: application to human disability and biomedical engineering

Nicolas Vuillerme (1) , Olivier Chenu (1) , Alexandre Moreau-Gaudry (1) , Jacques Demongeot (1) , Yohan Payan (2)

1 TIMC-IMAG - Techniques de l'Ingénierie Médicale et de la Complexité - Informatique, Mathématiques et Applications, Grenoble - UMR 5525
2 TIMC-IMAG-GMCAO - Gestes Medico-chirurgicaux Assistés par Ordinateur

The present paper aims at introducing the innovative technologies, based on the concept of "sensory substitution" or "perceptual supplementation", we are developing in the fields of human disability and biomedical engineering. Precisely, our goal is to design, develop and validate practical assistive biomedical and/technical devices and/or rehabilitating procedures for persons with disabilities, using artificial tongue-placed tactile biofeedback systems. Proposed applications are dealing with: (1) pressure sores prevention in case of spinal cord injuries (persons with paraplegia, or tetraplegia); (2) ankle proprioceptive acuity improvement for driving assistance in older and/or disabled adults; and (3) balance control improvement to prevent fall in older and/or disabled adults. This paper presents results of three feasibility studies performed on young healthy adults.

Mots clés: sensory substitution; handicap; tongue disply unit; perceptual supplementation

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]; Neurosciences

Nicolas Vuillerme, Olivier Chenu, Alexandre Moreau-Gaudry, Jacques Demongeot, Yohan Payan. Artificial Tongue-Placed Tactile Biofeedback for perceptual supplementation: application to human disability and biomedical engineering. 2007, pp.105-112. ⟨hal-00143284⟩