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A comparison of two computer access systems for functional text entry

R C DeVries1, J Deitz, D Anson

  • 1Department of Occupational Therapy, Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup, Washington 98734, USA.

The American Journal of Occupational Therapy : Official Publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association
|September 18, 1998
PubMed
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This study compared mouthstick and HeadMaster computer access for individuals with tetraplegia. While both systems were usable, text entry speeds were too slow for most employment scenarios.

Area of Science:

  • Rehabilitation Engineering
  • Assistive Technology
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Functional written communication is crucial for individuals with tetraplegia.
  • Alternative computer access systems are vital for enabling computer use in this population.
  • Therapists require efficacy data on available assistive technologies for informed decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effectiveness of two text entry systems: the traditional mouthstick and the Prentke Romich HeadMaster.
  • To compare the performance of these systems in individuals with tetraplegia.
  • To provide data to aid therapists in selecting appropriate assistive computer access methods.

Main Methods:

  • A single-subject research design was employed.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Two participants with C5 tetraplegia and no prior experience with either system were recruited.
  • Participants underwent alternating phases of training and testing with the mouthstick and HeadMaster systems.

    • Main Results:

    • Both participants successfully used both the mouthstick and HeadMaster systems.
    • Participant 1 achieved a maximum text entry rate of 5.85 words per minute (wpm) with both devices.
    • Participant 2 achieved a maximum rate of 7.15 wpm with the mouthstick and 4.85 wpm with the HeadMaster.

    Conclusions:

    • Individuals with tetraplegia can successfully utilize both mouthstick and HeadMaster systems for text entry.
    • However, the achieved text entry rates were generally insufficient for functional employment.
    • Further research into improving the speed and efficiency of alternative computer access systems is warranted.