Building an effective ontology for assistive technology

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Ontology Development

Background:

• Assistive technology (AT) prescription for physically controllable pointing devices lacks standardization.
• A structured approach is needed to improve AT selection and knowledge sharing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an ontology for physically controllable pointing devices.
• To enhance the systematic regulation and standardization within the AT field.

Main Methods:

• The Delphi method was employed with six occupational therapists specializing in AT.
• A three-round questionnaire process was used to identify and categorize key items.
• Interrater reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Main Results:

• Initial ICCs ranged from 0.19 to 0.97, improving to 0.72 to 1.0 by the second round.
• Full expert consensus was achieved in the final round.
• The validated ontology includes 218 items (5 categories) for pointing devices and 168 items (6 categories) for user profiles.

Conclusions:

• The developed ontology provides a standardized structure for physically controllable pointing devices.
• This framework is expected to improve AT regulation, knowledge sharing, and clinical practice.
• Increased standardization can lead to more effective assistive technology solutions.