Kanny E M, Anson D K
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
Assist Technol. 1991;3(2):50-8. doi: 10.1080/10400435.1991.10132182.
Adaptive interface devices make it possible for individuals with physical disabilities to use microcomputers and thus perform many tasks that they would otherwise be unable to accomplish. Special equipment is available that purports to allow functional access to the computer for users with disabilities. As technology moves from purely keyboard applications to include graphic input, it will be necessary for assistive interface devices to support graphics as well as text entry. Headpointing systems that emulate the mouse in combination with on-screen keyboards are of particular interest to persons with severe physical impairment such as high level quadriplegia. Two such systems currently on the market are the HeadMaster and the Free Wheel. The authors have conducted a pilot study comparing graphic input speed using the mouse and two headpointing interface systems on the Macintosh computer. The study used a single subject design with six able-bodied subjects, to establish a baseline for comparison with persons with severe disabilities. Results of these preliminary data indicated that the HeadMaster was nearly as effective as the mouse and that it was superior to the Free Wheel for graphics input. This pilot study, however, demonstrated several experimental design problems that need to be addressed to make the study more robust. It also demonstrated the need to include the evaluation of text input so that the effectiveness of the interface devices with text and graphic input could be compared.
自适应接口设备使身体有残疾的人能够使用微型计算机，从而完成许多他们原本无法完成的任务。有一些特殊设备声称可以让残疾用户实现对计算机的功能性访问。随着技术从单纯的键盘应用发展到包含图形输入，辅助接口设备将有必要同时支持图形和文本输入。对于诸如高位四肢瘫痪等严重身体损伤的人来说，结合屏幕键盘来模拟鼠标的头部指向系统尤其受关注。目前市场上的两种此类系统是HeadMaster和Free Wheel。作者进行了一项初步研究，比较了在Macintosh计算机上使用鼠标和两种头部指向接口系统进行图形输入的速度。该研究采用单受试者设计，选取了六名身体健全的受试者，以建立一个与严重残疾者进行比较的基线。这些初步数据的结果表明，HeadMaster几乎与鼠标一样有效，并且在图形输入方面优于Free Wheel。然而，这项初步研究显示出几个实验设计问题，需要加以解决以使研究更加可靠。它还表明需要纳入文本输入的评估，以便能够比较接口设备在文本和图形输入方面的有效性。
