Development of a Blinkcommunicator for Communication Aid Using a Blink Switch

In this study, we developed a prototype of a blink-based communication device called the “Blinkcommunicator” to verify the feasibility of creating a simple and practical system for selecting picture card messages focusing on blinking. Users of this device blink to select a target from among eight rapidly flashing options (picture cards). The blink-related changes in eye potentials are detected in real-time using a pattern recognition method (referred to as the “blink switch”). Assuming this system as a cognitive task, we investigated whether participants, consisting of 14 healthy individuals, could accurately select the target specified by the blinking switch (target decoding accuracy based on pattern recognition). As a result, the patterns of blinks associated with task performance (particularly peak amplitude and latency) were consistent within individuals, leading to a remarkably high decoding accuracy averaging over 95%. This further enhances expectations for the practical application of this system.