EyeControl | 2018-2019

Designers: Taga Design Team, Taga innovations, Tel Aviv, Israel
Manufacturer: Eyecontrol, Petach Tikva, Israel

EyeControl is a communication system for locked-in patients which transforms their eye movements into voice.
Locked-in syndrome (LIS), also known as pseudocoma, is a condition in which a patient is aware but cannot move or communicate verbally due to complete paralysis of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for vertical eye movements and blinking.

The individual is conscious and sufficiently intact cognitively to be able to communicate with eye movements.
Eyecontrol will pilot the medical device at hospitals treating patients with Covid-19, where it can help preserve lines of communication between ventilated patients and nurse stations outside quarantine.

EyeControl includes a head wearable device that contains a camera that monitors eye pupil movements. The user picks up words from a screen and navigates them with the help of a voice menu.

The system includes a special bone conduction speaker that allows the user to hear both the surroundings and the instructions of the system at the same time.

The second part of the system is the audio unit which functions as a speaker and plays the person's speech to his environment in optimal convenience and volume.

In designing the system, Taga designers gave special attention to making it adaptable to every head size, making it lightweight, and giving it the hi-tech look of a cool gadget, unlike a medical product.

EyeControl and Taga created a high-end product with competitive functionality, yet at a low production cost, so every patient can afford it. The affordability of the product is one of its main advantages.