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Optimizing Assisted Communication Devices for Children With Motor Impairments Using a Model of Information Rate and Channel Capacity

NCT00352326 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 29

Last updated 2017-05-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

For children who depend on devices to communicate, the rate of communication is a primary determinant of success. For children with motor impairments, the rate of communication may be limited by inability to contact buttons or cells rapidly or accurately. It is therefore essential to know how to adjust the device interface in order to maximize each child's rate of communication. The optimal rate of communication is determined by the Channel Capacity, which is the maximum value of the Information Rate for all possible keyboard button or cell layouts for the communication device. We construct a mathematical model for the information rate based on the relationship between movement time and the number of buttons per screen, the size of the buttons, and the length of a sequence of buttons that must be pressed to communicate each word in the vocabulary. We measure the parameters of the model using a custom-programmed touch-screen interface.

Conditions

  • Cerebral Palsy

Interventions

DEVICE

reprogramming assisted communication device interface

The subjects were required to touch targets on the iPad® screen with the index finger of their preferred (less-affected) arm. The experimental task consisted of 180 targets divided in 4 blocks: 45 targets each block with a 1-minute interval between trials to avoid fatigue. Targets appeared at 1 of 9 different locations on the screen, and subjects moved their finger sequentially from one target to the next.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Southern California

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Terence D. Sanger · Stanford University

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
5 Years
Max Age
25 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2006-01-31
Primary Completion
2014-12-31
Completion
2014-12-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT00352326 on ClinicalTrials.gov