Accessibility and Health Tech (or tech accessibility)

[galled]

OK, rest up. We'll be here!

In the mean time:
'Mind-Reading' AI Turns Thoughts Into Spoken Words
https://www.webmd.com/brain/news/201901 ... en-words#1

[Vivianne]

Oh yes, I think my brother may have been working on a similar project during his internship!

Tomorrow, I’ll have to type up a description of a typing method I had hoped would ease my life in college.

[Lemon Cheesecake]

They are coming up with devices/braces to help paralyzed people walk...I am sure there will be more technological advances coming out to help others in your situation. Sometimes it is just a matter of letting people know what you believe would work for you and they work off of that information and what is available...maybe even your brother?

[Vivianne]

I saw that article, Lemon! The exoskeleton, right?

Okay, here’s how I -tried- to type during lectures when my dominant hand was declining.

I mirrored the QWERTY keyboard manually so that each key could represent one of two letters. Q could have been q or p, w could have been w or o, and so on.

It was a pain to interpret, so I quickly modified the system to include a Visual Basic script that would change capitalized letters exclusively. That led to much abuse of the caps lock key, and it wore on my hand.

I graduated shortly afterward and don’t really use it anymore. But AI now could make it interesting! I’m not a huge tech person, but one of my brothers is possibly going into AI and has expressed an interest in accessibility. If it ever comes up, I’ll see if he wants to refine this method. I have a starting point for him; I once did an ngram analysis of the Google books corpus after seeing Peter Norvig’s letter frequency analysis.

Anyway, maybe something based on my method could be made helpful, if basic efficiency obstacles can be overcome.

[galled]

Do you have good mobility in your typing hand? I know you said you one finger type.

[Vivianne]

It’s gettn worse. I have a brachial plexus tumor (in the neck/shoulder junction and tangled in nerves that control the arm and hand). Actually, mine are bilateral and very large. They’re visible to the naked eye. Surgery in that area is risky.

It’s why the switch is so important. It’s almost certain I will eventually lose function.

[galled]

Do you currently use a one handed keyboard?

[Vivianne]

No. The ones I encountered are really expensive, and for various reasons, including a neck fusion, an on screen keyboard is much easier.

[galled]

Hi, Viv!

Been wondering if you've heard how the person who was to setup your new interface is doing. Have they rescheduled your meeting?

[Vivianne]

It’s resc for 12/18! Thanks for asking!

[galled]

Ooo, that'll make a nice Christmas present!

[Lemon Cheesecake]

If your brother goes into AI then you could have a really big impact inspiring him and helping him to understand how a body physically functions.

Christmas is only a month away!!!!

[Vivianne]

He was already thinking a little about accessibility tech when I saw him in August. No matter what he does, I think he will think about accessibility, which is nice.

My other brother is just finishing his first semester, so he’s still exploring his interests.

Speaking of Christmas, I have a personal vendetta against wrapping paper because it can’t be torn one-handed. My mom has taken pity on me and puts my gifts in gift bags. Not necessarily hi-tech, but still accessibility.

[galled]

I've always thought wrapping paper, as colorful and fancy as they can be, are awfully wasteful. I know some people are good with it and can reuse it, but that seems to be the exception. Gift bags can be just as festive IMHO, and kinder to the planet because they can be used over and over again.

[MissAutumn]

It's annoying that you can't recycle wrapping paper. We use bags where we can because you can reuse them.