Why the TetraMouse
was Developed
I developed the TetraMouse for several reasons. A good friend of mine, Mary,
had a brother, Dennis, with Lou Gehrig's disease (also known as Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis or ALS). Mary asked me if I would research mouth-operated
computer mice on the internet in order that her brother could use the computer,
so I jumped on Google and found several existing products (see the "Compare
with Others" page). These mice all look like good quality, usable products,
but as I studied them I couldn't help but wonder why they all cost so much money.
I also noticed that most other accessories for handicapped people seemed to
have unreasonable price tags. It is understandable, to some degree, that the
development costs of such equipment can be very high when that development is
farmed out to professional design engineers. So, I would presume that part of
the problem with the cost is due to the developers trying to recover their R&D
investments. Another thing that seems to happen with equipment that is considered
"medical" or "special needs" is that the market is smaller than it is for everyday
items that are sold to hundreds and thousands of people on a regular basis,
hence, the price per item must be higher in order to stay in business. And then
there are the cases where they apparently just plain gouge the customers because
they have a product that is indeed a special item and not commonly available.
They have a captive market and some of them just might be greedy enough to take
advantage wherever they can. Hopefully, that is not the case, but I find it
hard to justify some of the incredibly high-priced offers I've seen and the
mark-ups by some vendors.
It made me angry thinking about how people with special needs have to deal with
everything the least bit specialized being so expensive all the time. Being
an electronics and mechanical design engineer with many years of experience,
I asked myself, "Why not see how much it would cost for me to develop a no-hands
mouse?" So I did. I didn't have to farm out any design work because I did it
all myself. I didn't try to make it extra fancy with lots of frills. For example,
many of the no-hands mice use a joystick combined with a "sip and puff" switch
to facilitate mouse clicking. I figured if you can move a joystick you don't
need to complicate the design by adding an expensive sip and puff switch. All
you need to do is add another joystick to do the mouse-clicks. And in Dennis' case, sip and puff was not a good option because of his limited breathing capability.
My resulting TetraMouse design is no nonsense, simple, rugged, easy to use,
affordable, precise and works great! The TetraMouse has undergone ongoing development
and now I can offer units built with close-spaced joysticks and cup-shaped knobs
to allow people with zero head movement to operate the TetraMouse with their
tongue, as well as the standard model for people with some head movement.
Sadly for us, Mary's brother Dennis has now passed on to a better place. I dedicate this site
to him and all those that suffer from debilitating diseases, disabilities and mishaps. I resolve
to continue to help provide affordable assistive technology to those who seek
it.
The above statement predates more recent events. I would like to
add the following:
My very good friend, Mary, who, along with her brother Dennis, had the familial
variety of ALS, passed away in my arms on October 30, 2005. She no longer
has to suffer from that awful disease. Her passing only strengthens my resolve
to continue the TetraMouse project and to try to be a positive example to the
assistive technology industry in order to demonstrate that such products do
not have to be prohibitively expensive.
I dedicate this site and the TetraMouse project to Mary and Dennis, without
whom this project would never have been lauched. Even though Mary didn't like
computers, and didn't want to use one, she supported my project completely because,
well, she had a good heart (the best!) and liked the idea of helping those seeking
assistive technology. Mary did use a TetraMouse that I converted to operate
my TV, VCR and DVD player (I simply wired the TetraMouse into a universal remote
control). She would lie on the couch and change channels and control the volume
with her feet because, in her case, she lost the use of her hands first. I have recently added the TetraZap adapted universal remote controller to my product line and, although I have no physical disailities myself, I find it is much easier to use than all the separate remotes when I want to watch TV.
It is my firm resolve to do my very best to continue to help provide individuals
with affordable assistive technology in order to improve their quality of life.
Doing so has been most rewarding for me and has improved the quality and meaning
of my life also.
I have posted a memorial web page for Mary at http://tetralite.com/mary
.
-- Mark Snyder
TetraLite Products, TetraMouse
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