Quick Glance 2S
Eyegaze
ERICA Eye Response Communication/Computer Control
Dynavox DV4
TASH Infrared Phone
Quick Glance 2S
Reviewed by:
Manufacturer/Retailer: EyeTech
Cost: $4,500-$10,000
Reimbursement:
Pros:
John Lore has ALS and was excited to discover the Quick Glance 2S because it has enabled him to regain the ability to communicate easily and to take full advantage of his computer. He was able to master using his Quick Glance 2S in less than two days and he has been “talking” and emailing his friends and family non-stop ever since. He uses free software called Dasher to generate text and "speak".
John says that he is able to "type" faster with his Quick Glance 2S and Dasher than he could before he was affected by ALS! John's notebook computer is mounted on his power wheelchair and the wheelchair is also the power source for the computer and the Quick Glance 2S. Because of that, and a wireless home network, he is able to be completely mobile.
I addition to communication, John also uses his Quick Glance 2S, in conjunction with his computer, to pay all of the bills, shop online, control the TV and explore his interests on the internet. He says that he has used other systems but "The Quick Glance system gives me the ability to do everything on the computer quickly, easily and it should continue to fulfill all of my needs as the disease progresses."
Cons:
Summary:
Comments From Other Users:
Add your comments.Eyegaze Communication/Computer Control
Reviewed by:
Manufacturer/Retailer: LC Technologies
Cost: $15,000
Reimbursement: Medicare covered, MDA will give up to $2,000 toward your 20% copay
Pros:
The Eyegaze unit that I was shown from LC Technologies was a PC tower that connected to a monitor that could be mounted on my wheelchair. On both attempts to try the Eyegaze unit I was able to rapidly adapt to the system and control the unit.
Cons:
I don't know if there is a laptop or other form factor available, but this unit was not very portable. When I asked about computer access I was shown the ability to connect another
computer to the unit and control the cursor on the other computer through a mechanism that involved looking at the Eyegaze unit to select a direction to move the computer cursor and to start the
cursor moving. I then had to look at the computer monitor until the cursor reached the desired location, then look back at the Eyegaze unit to stop the cursor.
Summary:
The clumsy nature of this interface and difficulty in controlling the cursor precisely made this unit unusable for my needs. To be fair, the LC Technologies unit could have many other capabilities, but the person showing it to me (and ultimately responsible for the sale) failed to show them to me (in fact a recent post by David A. illustrates capabilities that I was not aware of).
Comments From Other Users:
Add your comments.ERICA Eye Response Communication/Computer Control
Reviewed by:
Manufacturer/Retailer: Eye Response
Cost: base price $7,300, unlocking fee to allow full use of the computer, not
just the speech device, is $600
Reimbursement: Base price is covered by Medicare, MDA will give up to $2,000 toward your 20% copay and unlocking fee.
Pros:
The Eye Response unit (named ERICA) is a tablet computer that attaches easily to my wheelchair and can operate for about 2 hours when unplugged (7 with the extended life battery). It is a single unit, and very portable outside of the mounting arm which, while a little clunky, you would need whatever solution was chosen. (If portability isn't a priority, ERICA can also be installed on your desktop computer.)
On the first demo, it was very difficult to calibrate to my eye, and even with technical support on the phone we were never able to get control of the unit. The second demo (necessitated by the computer access issue related above) was much more successful. I was easily able to calibrate to the unit, and controlled the unit with ease. Computer access with ERICA is simple: the unit itself (for a $600 unlock fee) is a fully functioning tablet computer. It comes with a wireless network card, and integrated quite easily into my existing wireless network.
Cons:
Summary:
Eyegaze and ERICA were the only two products that my speech therapist was
aware of that are Medicare approved. I ended up purchasing the Eye Response (ERICA) unit. I have been using it for almost a month now, and I cannot imagine life without it.
Comments From Other Users:
Add your comments.Dynavox DV4
Reviewed by:
Manufacturer/Retailer: Dynavox Systems
Cost:
Reimbursement:
Pros:
This speech augmentation device works well with any switch. As long as the individual can use a switch of some sort, they can operate this device. It can be used to control the TV and
any device with X10 or Infrared commands.
Cons:
We have had times where this devices freezes up but that may be due to the fact that it needs a regular 'soft reset'. At times the spoken words may not sound as one would expect and it's time consuming to customize words to sound right. It's doable, though.
Summary:
We are satisfied with the abilities of this device so far. We use it with a pillow switch between the knees and hope that we will be able to continue to use a switch to operate the device as the disease progresses. We have preprogrammed many buttons to make the use of the device easier.
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Add your comments.TASH Infrared Phone
