Tilt device with accelerometer for On / Off control in patients with a deep motor disability

Abstract

This paper will describe the design and operation of a prototype tilt to operate switches and which can be operated by patients with severe motor impairment. The base for the switch is an accelerometer built on a single low-cost chip. The switch responds to a relatively fast rotation of the active components that can be placed on a headband that will be used on the head. The design of the device has been made so that it has a large adjustment range. The device is automatically adjusted for changes in the attitude of the device resulting from a changing patient posture. We show that the device can operate in a wide range of attitudes. Three basic operation tests are described that show that the prototype was successfully used as a head tilt switch.