Application of infrared scanning of the neck muscles to control a cursor in human-computer interface

The feasibility of using infrared (IR) spectroscopy of the neck muscles in controlling a cursor in a 2-dimensional screen was assessed. The proposed technique utilizes two IR photoplethysmography sensors (λ = 940nm) to monitor the morphological changes of the Scalene and Sternocleidomastoid muscles. Since the reflection of the light has valuable information about the type of contraction, the direction of the movement (right/left, up/down) can be simply derived using two sensors. A MATLAB platform was developed in which a cursor moves using the recorded signal. Three scenarios of high/low sensitivity and joystick mode were tested. The results from 4 different healthy subjects shows the feasibility of control in terms of throughput, overshoot, and path efficiency.