Implantable and Wearable Sensors for Assistive Technologies

This article aims to introduce implantable and wearable sensors and state-of-the-art assistive technologies in which these sensors are used in this diverse and growing field. In the introduction, we discuss the motivation behind and the need for assistive technologies from the perspective of social and economic benefits that will impact the population at large, both nationally and beyond. The next section covers augmentative and assistive communication systems for voice/speech recognition and language disorders. Section three reviews sensory aids for visual and auditory impairments. The following section elaborates on seating and transportation systems that include smart chair, smart walker/cane, and smart bed. Section five addresses the systems for manipulating and controlling the environment, such as tongue driven systems and eye-trackers. Sections on prosthetics and invasive and non-invasive brain-computer interfaces are discussed next.