eyegaze
Hello Carol, I was looking at this site today and saw your question about a tutorial on the use of an eyegaze system. Well I can fill you in on as much as I can.
There are 2 types of eyegaze systems, the desktop and the portable unit. I have the portable eyegaze system. The portable system is designed to be used from a desk location or with a powered wheelchair. It is not designed to be carried around like a laptop. There are too many parts to just carry it around. This device can be transfered to a desk location from a wheelchair but it does require some practice. While I am at home my eyegaze is set up at my desk for the whole time. I only transfer it to my chair for important conversations with doctors or other important communication.
The eyegaze system is quite the system. At nearly $15,000. it better be the best. Medicare will provide 80% if all the codes are filled in properly by a speech pathologist.
The eyegaze has a LCD screen, about 16" in size. This screen sits in front of you at about 2' away from your face. It can be tilted to any angle, so if you sit erect or reclined, the device can be adjusted to match your position. The screen is where you will operate the device from. There are several things you can do with the eyegaze. You can use the device to speak sentences that you type out. Or you can use preworded phrases or words on several different levels. You can pretype about 164 different phrases to simplify common commands. You can operate appliances in your home like the lights, fans, music and a chime that comes with the device. There are a total of 8 different things you can operate with the appliance program. There is also a program that allows you to use a computer. This is the best thing in the whole setup. You can use 100% of the PC. It also allows complete access to the INTERNET. Every word I have typed here has all been done from my eyegaze.
In order to utilize the eyegaze you will need assistance from others to turn it on and to align the screen to your position. If you can use your arms then it can be done by your self. It takes about 3 minutes to start up and set the angles to match your face. Once the system is ready to go, all you need is your eye to operate everything. You will be taught how to align your dominant eye when you try one out for the first time.
This device can talk in almost every language if you choose. The 3 voices are very human like. The woman's voice is the most realistic and the one my daughter likes the best. You can plug in a pair of powered speakers to elevate the volume as the system is not that loud.
I hope this gives you a little better insight into how the eyegaze systems work. I have posted other in depth replies to other threads on this site, so if you check out my other posts on this subject you should be able to get a real clear idea about the whole concept.
Your friend Brentt.