Development and evaluation of a assistive computer interface by SEMG for individuals with spinal cord injuries

We developed an alternative computer interface using surface electromyography (sEMG) for individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) to access a computer. We designed this interface to make a cursor move on a two-dimensional screen and to click using only three muscles: the extensor carpi radialis (R-ECR) and extensor carpi ulnaris (R-ECU) of the right forearm and the extensor carpi radialis (L-ECR) of the left forearm. In addition, a user can voluntarily control cursor movement speed by modulating muscle contraction levels. One SCI patient and 5 healthy subjects volunteered to evaluate the performance of this interface using Fitts' law test in a two-dimensional testing setup. The throughputs (TP) of our interface were 0.2604 b/s for the SCI patient and 0.4295 ± 0.0600 b/s for the healthy subjects. This interface could help SCI patients handle a wider range of activities such as browsing the Internet and communicating with others.