Iranian of the Day

National Science Foundation: For Jason DiSanto, a quadriplegic, a measure of freedom and independence may one day be on the tip of his tongue. He is about to test drive a unique headset that should allow him to steer his wheelchair with his tongue. The system is the brainchild of Maysam Ghovanloo, a researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "There is this strong connection between brain and tongue," says Ghovanloo. "So even people with high levels of spinal cord injury don't lose their movement of the tongue." For the past four years, Ghovanloo has been working with his team at Georgia Tech to improve life for quadriplegics like Jason. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), they have devised a headset that responds to a magnet. Using a laptop, a wireless connection and navigation software, the headset is programmed to allow Jason to steer a wheelchair by moving his tongue. "The tongue has so many degrees of freedom that you can touch every single tooth in your mouth with the tip of the tongue," says Ghovanloo >>>