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. 2015 Spring;27(1):52-8.
doi: 10.1080/10400435.2014.984260.

Improving Target Acquisition for Computer Users With Athetosis

Dan Ding  1 , Sergio Peral Rodriguez, Rory A Cooper, Cameron N Riviere
Affiliations

Improving Target Acquisition for Computer Users With Athetosis

Dan Ding et al. Assist Technol. 2015 Spring.

Abstract

Prior work has highlighted the challenges faced by people with athetosis when trying to acquire on-screen targets using a mouse or trackball. The difficulty of positioning the mouse cursor within a confined area has been identified as a challenging task. We have developed a target acquisition assistance algorithm that features transition assistance via directional gain variation based on target prediction, settling assistance via gain reduction in the vicinity of a predicted target, and expansion of the predicted target as the cursor approaches it. We evaluated the algorithm on improving target acquisition efficiency among seven participants with athetoid cerebral palsy. Our results showed that the algorithm significantly reduced the overall movement time by about 20%. Considering the target acquisition occurs countless times in the course of regular computer use, the accumulative effect of such improvements can be significant for improving the efficiency of computer interaction among people with athetosis.

Keywords: athetosis; cerebral palsy; computer access; target acquisition.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Experimental setup.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Comparisons of movement time, distance ratio, and success rate between assisted and unassisted trials for both the radial and random layout sessions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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