Maggie’s only interaction with the world is through small movements of just her left eye. We had to figure out how to make a device that could detect her sometimes very subtle vertical eye movements, and turn that movement into control of a computer.

1.  SYMeyes tracks Maggie’s pupil location to detect even the slightest eye movements. 

2.  Using SYMeyes requires practice, and feedback is key, so the system includes games in which Maggie earns points. 

Check out her progress since we started:

3.  Maggie is now practicing using a simplified communication interface that actually speaks her answers to basic questions through the computer.

4.  SYMeyes has the potential to help thousands of people as we further refine the technology and make it more widely available.

We are actively working on a variety of other assistive technologies to meet the needs of clients and their families living with:

›  ALS

›  Stroke

›  Traumatic brain injury

›  Spinal cord injury

›  Cerebral palsy

›  Multiple sclerosis

›  Any other condition that limits effective communication

›  A head mouse to enable individuals with quadriplegia to control a computer cursor
   with just head movements

›  An eye mouse to provide full control over a computer using only eye movements

›  An adapted switch to enable control of basic smart phone functions

›  Innovative on-screen keyboards to make communication easier and more efficient for
   people with motor limitations

›  Environmental control systems to take back control of:

        •  Doors
        •  TV
        •  Lights
        •  Many other things around the house

›  A wide range of accessibility software tools to enable personal expression,
   exploration, and entertainment

        •  Text-to-speech conversion
        •  E-mail
        •  Web browsing
        •  Facebook

›  Custom, independently-developed technology is possible because of new
    low-cost hardware and flexible software frameworks.

›  Tech-social entrepreneurship is drawing local students who want to make an
   impact with their business and software development skill sets.

›  A growing number of clinicians are advocating for patient-empowerment, a model
   of healthcare driven by informed dialogue with patients.

›  Grant opportunities and crowd-funding tools can fund product development
   and support.

›  Collaborators, partners, and a supportive ecosystem already exist to help
   SpeakYourMind succeed.

With your support, the SpeakYourMind Foundation will be able to take our prototype technologies and turn them into viable solutions for the many people with neurological injury and disease who struggle to communicate.  We will take our early stage organization to the next level.

›  Research and development of innovative assistive technologies

›  Continue building a network of volunteers and staff to scale our operation to
   maximize our impact

›  Provide personalized support to each individual client to keep the
   conversations flowing

›  Raise awareness of the challenges faced by people living with disabilities

Please give what you can and tell everyone you know about the work we’re doing and our Indiegogo campaign. To keep up with our latest developments, visit our website, find us on facebook, or follow us on twitter. 

Thank you for your help!

– The SpeakYourMind Foundation Team