Controlling your entire computer with your mouth?! Is it something out of a Sci-Fi novel? Maybe, but for many people with severe physical disabilities such as quadriplegia and Multiple Sclerosis, the Jouse2, a mouth operated joystick, can be a fantastic form of computer access! When used with an on-screen keyboard, this alternative mouse gives the user full access to all computer functions!
We have had the Jouse2 in our Center for many years and have found it to be a very accurate and sturdy input device. There are no drivers to install or software needed to run. This “plug and play” unit plugs into the computer with a simple USB cord, operates like a standard mouse, and comes with its own flexible mount to attach to a computer desk.
The joystick on the Jouse2 is moved with the mouth, tongue, chin or cheek, which, in turn, moves the cursor. The left and right mouse clicks are performed by sipping and/or puffing on the same joystick. This allows one to perform all computer movements normally made with a standard mouse, such as moving the cursor to click on links, clicking and moving the scroll bar, and dragging and dropping various items on the screen, such as one would do with one of my favorites, Solitaire! This video is a good demonstration of how easily someone can use the Jouse2 to move around their computer.
To input text, an onscreen keyboard is used, such as the built-in one from Microsoft. The user simply moves the cursor to a letter and performs a left click with the built-in sip/puff switch and voilà, a letter is input into the document. Here is a letter by Greg Rose, who owns this system. He created it using the Jouse2 and free onscreen keyboard with word prediction, Click’n’Type.
In conclusion, if you cannot operate a computer with the use of your hands, the Jouse2 is definitely worth investigating, and it just might give you “Independence on a Stick”!
Hello Ms Krull,
Upon reading your review of the Jouse2 on the page at
https://ndassistive.org/control-your-entire-computer-with-your-mouth/
I thought you might be interested in knowing about the TetraMouse (if you don’t already). I am the owner of TetraLite Products and the designer, maker and seller of the TetraMouse, a dual-joystick lip, chin, or tongue operated mouse. Unlike other mouth operated joysticks, the TetraMouse does not use “sip and puff” switches, eliminating the need to change saliva filters. When I first developed the TetraMouse I figured if you can use one joystick, you can also use another, so I came up with the dual-joystick idea. The sticks are close enough together to allow operation with the tongue for people with no head movement. The right joystick controls the pointer movement and the left joystick performs all of these functions: Left, right and middle button clicks, button 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 clicks, scroll up, scroll down, left click and hold, right click and hold, middle button click and hold and pointer movement speed control selection and configuration settings, all accessible by the user. The TetraMouse clearly has more built-in features than any other mouth-operated mouse on the market and it is by far the lowest priced at $249. Compare that to the Jouse2 at $1495 or the QuadJoy starting at $800. The TetraMouse comes with an unsurpassed lifetime guarantee with only one condition – the customer must pay for shipping both ways for repairs or replacement. Other than that, any TetraMouse ever made may be repaired or replaced free of charge regardless of how it was damaged, how much damage there is, or if it failed for any reason whatsoever. It also comes with a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee, extendable to 60 days on request. The latest TetraMouse model now comes in color combinations specified at the time of ordering.
I hope you will take a look at my website (tetramouse.com) to see more about the TetraMouse.
Best Regards,
Mark
Thanks for the information, Mark. We would love to take a look at your device. Please email me at jmkrull@ndipat.org Thanks!