title: Improving Target Acquisition for Computer Users With Athetosis.
abstract: Prior work has highlighted the challenges faced by people with athetosis when trying to acquire on-screen targets using a mouse or trackball. The difficulty of positioning the mouse cursor within a confined area has been identified as a challenging task. We have developed a target acquisition assistance algorithm that features transition assistance via directional gain variation based on target prediction, settling assistance via gain reduction in the vicinity of a predicted target, and expansion of the predicted target as the cursor approaches it. We evaluated the algorithm on improving target acquisition efficiency among seven participants with athetoid cerebral palsy. Our results showed that the algorithm significantly reduced the overall movement time by about 20%. Considering the target acquisition occurs countless times in the course of regular computer use, the accumulative effect of such improvements can be significant for improving the efficiency of computer interaction among people with athetosis.
authors.affiliation: a Human Engineering Research Laboratories, Department of Veterans Affairs , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , USA.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Sergio Peral
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Rory A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: Cameron N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Riviere
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001264:Athetosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016287:Computer Peripherals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012984:Software; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D015443:Word Processing
keywords: athetosis; cerebral palsy; computer access; target acquisition