Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 4:4:846963.
doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.846963. eCollection 2022.

Exploring the Connection of Brain Computer Interfaces and Multimedia Use With the Social Integration of People With Various Motor Disabilities: A Questionnaire-Based Usability Study

Ioulietta Lazarou  1 , Spiros Nikolopoulos  1 , Kostas Georgiadis  1 , Vangelis P Oikonomou  1 , Agnes Mariakaki  2 , Ioannis Kompatsiaris  1
Affiliations

Exploring the Connection of Brain Computer Interfaces and Multimedia Use With the Social Integration of People With Various Motor Disabilities: A Questionnaire-Based Usability Study

Ioulietta Lazarou et al. Front Digit Health. .

Abstract

We have designed a platform to aid people with motor disabilities to be part of digital environments, in order to create digitally and socially inclusive activities that promote their quality of life. To evaluate in depth the impact of the platform on social inclusion indicators across patients with various motor disabilities, we constructed a questionnaire in which the following indicators were assessed: (i) Well Being, (ii) Empowerment, (iii) Participation, (iv) Social Capital, (v) Education, and (vi) Employment. In total 30 participants (10 with Neuromuscular Disorders-NMD, 10 with Spinal Cord Injury-SCI, and 10 with Parkinson's Disease-PD) used the platform for ~1 month, and its impact on social inclusion indicators was measured before and after the usage. Moreover, monitoring mechanisms were used to track computer usage as well as an online social activity. Finally, testimonials and experimenter input were collected to enrich the study with qualitative understanding. All participants were favorable to use the suggested platform, while they would prefer it for longer periods of time in order to become "re-awakened" to possibilities of expanded connection and inclusion, while it became clear that the platform has to offer them further the option to use it in a reclining position. The present study has clearly shown that the challenge of social inclusion cannot be tackled solely with technology and it needs to integrate persuasive design elements that foster experimentation and discovery.

Keywords: Brain Computer Interfaces; Parkinson's disease; motor disabilities; neuromuscular disorders; social inclusion; spinal cord injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

AM was employed by Muscular Dystrophy Association, Hellas. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pipeline methodology.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) The architecture of the “GazeTheWeb” browser, (B) Indicative example of the “GazeTheWeb” interactive interface, and (C) The gaze-based keyboard.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A four stage model to augment efficacy of “GazeTheWeb” in encouraging social inclusion.
Figure 4
Figure 4
A “GazeTheWeb” model of supportive and contributive social inclusion indicators.
Figure 5
Figure 5
An integrated system of social inclusion indicators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. McDonald JW, Sadowsky C. Spinal-cord injury. Lancet. (2002) 359:417–25. 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07603-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. van den Berg MEL, Castellote JM, Mahillo-Fernandez I, de Pedro-Cuesta J. Incidence of spinal cord injury worldwide: a systematic review. Neuroepidemiology. (2010) 34:184–92; discussion 192. 10.1159/000279335 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Rupp R. Challenges in clinical applications of brain computer interfaces in individuals with spinal cord injury. Front Neuroeng. (2014) 7:e00038. 10.3389/fneng.2014.00038 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chen SY, Tsai ST. The epidemiology of Parkinson's disease. Tzu Chi Med J. (2010) 22:73–81. 10.1016/S1016-3190(10)60044-4 - DOI
    1. Lees A. Parkinson's disease. Pract Neurol. (2010) 10:240–6. 10.1136/jnnp.2010.217836 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources