IBM Debuts Mouse Adapter Built To Mitigate Hand Tremors
IBM said it is licensing the mouse adapter to Montrose Secam, a small British electronics company, which plans to manufacture and sell the Assistive Mouse Adapter for less than US$100.
IBM said on Monday that its researchers have invented a computer mouse adapter that eliminates cursor movement caused by hand tremors.
"Similar to the way camera image stabilizing systems work, the new adapter filters out the shaking movements of the hand," IBM said in a statement. "It is designed to work with any PC and operating system."
According to the International Essential Tremor Foundation, in the U.S. alone nearly 10 million people are affected by essential tremor, the most common form of hand tremors.
Involuntary movements of the hand while using a computer mouse make operating a PC difficult, and erratic movements of the cursor make it almost impossible to open e-mail or navigate the Web, IBM said.
IBM said it is licensing the mouse adapter to Montrose Secam, a small British electronics company, which plans to manufacture and sell the Assistive Mouse Adapter for less than US$100.
No extra software is needed for the adapter, which plugs in between the computer and the mouse.
The adapter can be adjusted to the severity of tremors and switched on as needed.
It also can be set to filter out unintended multiple clicking on the mouse caused by a shaking finger, according to IBM.
FromTopTech News