Publications

Abstract : Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis weakens the nervous system of a person due to death of the neurons that are responsible for the muscular activities of our body, allowing him to move and communicate with the help of his eye gaze and eye movements. This inactivity leads to a person being in a completely paralyzed state slowly making him succumb to his condition. In a vast majority of cases of ALS, the cause is still unknown. However, some studies claim that the involvement of multiple genes and environmental factors contribute to ALS in various cases. Indeed, ALS is primarily a polygenic (multiple genes involved) disease (70%–90) is inherited in 30% of total ALS cases. Some other causes include cigarette smoking, viral infections and ingestion of non-protein amino acids that may engender to this disease. The initial symptoms of ALS involves muscle weakness and/or muscle atrophy. Other presenting symptoms include trouble swallowing or breathing, cramping, or stiffness of affected muscles. However these symptoms prove to be too subtle to be detected and are often overlooked. This state of being makes it impossible for the patient to communicate his basic needs to others. Eye tracking is the advanced techniques which enable the people with Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and other locked-in diseases to communicate with normal people and make their life easier. The framework developed proves to be user-friendly and customizable according to the needs of the patient.