A communication device for locked-in patients was unveiled at the BrainTech Israel conference today.

Shay Rishoni is the CEO of Prize4Life, the Israel based ALS research group. He has suffered from ALS for 5 years, and is now unable to communicate.

Today, on the conference stage, Shay used Hello World‘s EyeControl, a blink driven, inexpensive, automatically calibrated, mobile communication tool.

An infrared camera connects to glasses that identify blinks and pupil movement. The camera communicates with a small Odroid-like computer. Eye movement is translated into commands that output sound to earphones and a speaker, and transmit it to a smartphone via bluetooth. An app enables the patient to communicate. An algorithm automatically calibrates the device so that the patient will not require assistance.

EyeControl can provide an alert to call for assistance; choose from predefined sentences; or compose sentences using alphabet boards.

Wearable Tech + Digital Health NYC 2015 – June 30 @ New York Academy of Sciences. Early registration rate until March 27.