Adaptive software for head-operated computer controls

Head‐operated computer controls provide an alternative means of computer access for people with disabilities who are unable to use a standard mouse. However, a person's disability may limit his or her neck movements as well as upper extremity movements. Software was developed which automatically adjusts the interface sensitivity to the needs of a particular user. This adaptive software was evaluated in two stages. First, 16 novice head‐control users with spinal‐cord injury or multiple sclerosis used head controls with and without the adaptive software. The adaptive software was associated with increased speed in standardized icon selection exercises (p < 0.05). A small increase in accuracy was also observed. In addition, five current head‐control users evaluated the software in a real‐world setting. One of these five subjects perceived an improvement in comparison to his current head‐control system.