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WGN Reports: Tongue-Guided Wheelchair Wows Researchers

559 views · Published 28 September 2011 · 1:50 · Indexed 31 October 2026

Channel: WGN News · 2011 · Science & Technology

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Martin Mireles, 38, was paralyzed by a gunshot wound 19 years ago, but is now part of an amazing study at Northwestern University that may completely change his life. Mireles is a patient in a study that changes quadriplegics mobility by piercing a magnet into one's tongue and utilizing it with a headset track to tell his or her wheelchair where to go, and how fast, based on the tongue's movement.  The tongue uses side-to-side movement to get the wheelchair to move so speech is not impaired and this technology has even helped Mireles be able to begin to play video games and dial a phone number again. The study is sponsored by Northwestern University and The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. To learn more about the study contact Diane Rowles at [email protected] or Dr. Jaimee Holbrook at 312-695-0281.

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