Device donated to help MND patients communicate

A device which helps people with Motor Neuron Disease communicate with family members has been donated to the Isle of Man's Hospital.

The Gridpad communication device provides text to speech output to ensure someone is understood, and is accessed through touch-screen, switches or eye gaze technology.

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) causes muscle weakness that worsens over months or years, and over 80% of patients experience unclear speech, Manx Care has said.

Christine Pain, Secretary of the Motor Neurone Disease Association said: "If you have a family member who has lost the power to speak, anything that can give you some method of communication is invaluable."

The device, which is a form of clinical intervention, also enables patients to access the internet, send messages and control their environment through smart speakers.

Pain said using the device could be time-consuming, but noted "communication gets easier as technology improves."

"While people can learn to live with a lot more disability then they thought they could, being able to talk to family and friends is the most important thing," she said.

There were currently nine people on the island who have been diagnosed with MND.

"People are in very difficult circumstances it is a very destructive disease," she said.

"Everybody who has MND have different experiences of it, because it affects different parts of the body at different times."

"One of the first things Speech and Language therapists do when someone is diagnosed with MND is record their speech, so if they do need this kind of communication aid, they can use their own voice to speak," she added.

In a statement, Manx Care said the equipment was a "vital piece of Augmentative and Alternative Communication technology that will make a meaningful difference for people living with Motor Neurone Disease."

The device "will help people with MND stay connected, express themselves, and maintain independence for as long as possible," it added.

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