Ergonomic assessment of an alternative PC mouse system based on EMG

Abstract

An alternative PC pointer device (PC mouse) which uses surface Electromyography (EMG) signals as input was ergonomically tested on users with disabilities. The EMG mouse was developed within the framework of the European IPCA Project (Intelligent Physiological Navigation and Control of Web-based Applications). The purpose of this project was to make access to the Information Society easier for people with disabilities. Fifteen persons with computer experience took part in the study. Seven of them belonged to a representative sample of the Target Group of Users (TGU) with severe disabilities and eight belonged to a control group (CG). The ergonomics of the EMG mouse were evaluated for the frontal, masseter and trapezius muscles by means of a questionnaire and an application developed in Java™ in which thirteen random targets had to be reached with the mouse. All the participants were able to use the system with at least one muscle. No differences in performances were found between the TGU and the CG. A fifteen-minute training session was sufficient to obtain good performance. The frontal presented the best performance of the three muscles under consideration. The degree of effort was perceived to be highest in the case of the trapezius muscle. An alternative EMG-based mouse system was shown to be a feasible alternative interface for people with disabilities.