Eye on technology
Oklahoma Christian University students bring “blessing” to Chickasha man with ALS.
‘T hese are happy tears!”
The words delivered audibly by a technological device helped Carl Phelps convey his joy and enthusiasm to a group of people gathered at his Chickasha home one afternoon.
His mouth never moved, but Phelps communicated nonetheless. His happiness resonated with his wife Janice and several Oklahoma Christian University students as they sat watching tears roll down his face.
Janice Phelps said the OC students gave her husband his voice back — just when he needed it most — through the device they created using free software.
Phelps was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, in April 2015. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.
Janice Phelps said her husband lost his speaking capabilities as a result of the disorder and had been communicating with her and others by pointing, texting, sign language or writing on an LCD Boogie Board.
However, by the time he met the OC students at an ALS support group meeting in January, he had lost the use of his hands so he wasn’t able to convey many of his thoughts, needs and emotions.
As part of a project called VisuALS, the team of OC senior engineering students created a technological device that allowed Phelps to use his eyes to communicate.
Steve Maher, an OC professor who served as the student team’s adviser, said the technology is called “gaze tracking” or “eye tracking.”
He said the students’ project took on new meaning when they met Phelps, who was extremely excited to see their prototype. “He was nudging his wife saying ‘Tell them I want one!’” Maher said. “The project became real. It wasn’t abstract anymore.”
Aubrey Gonzalez, one of
Once we met Carl, our project went from an academic project to the chance to change someone’s life.” Aubrey Gonzalez, senior engineering student
the senior engineering students, said she remembered that moment vividly.
She said the project was worthwhile from a professional perspective but it was powerful to be able to help someone directly, particularly Phelps, who she described as having a vibrant spirit even in the face of his illness. “We were motivated by the opportunity to help someone, and once we met Carl, our project went from an academic project to the chance to change someone’s life,” Gonzalez said.
Janice Phelps said her husband used the prototype the students brought to the support group meeting to tell her he loved her.It was the first time he had been able to speak in months.
Then, the students brought a device to the Phelps’ home just a few weeks later. “It’s kind of a God thing, a blessing,” she said. “Just at the point that he was needing something, they were there.”
Jevon Seaman was one of the business students who worked on a business plan for the device. He said he was amazed to see Carl Phelps regain the ability to show his love to his wife.
“It never occurred to me the kind of frustration that would accompany the inability to tell your spouse you loved them,” Seaman said. “To provide a new avenue for communication between Carl and his loved ones is an unforgettable and indescribable feeling.”
Project wins award as well as hearts, award
The VisuALS device has been a winning project in more ways than one.
Maher said other senior
engineering students who worked with Gonzalez to create the device included Josh Bilello, Preston Kemp and Tyler Sriver, while business students Seaman and Kevin McGuire developed a business plan for it, with help from Russ McGuire, OC’s entrepreneur in residence.
The six students were honored for their efforts a few weeks before they graduated on April 28. Their project was submitted into the Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup competition (formerly called the Donald W. Reynold’s Governor’s Cup) in March, and ultimately won first place in mid-April.
Seaman said winning the award was gratifying, adding yet another dimension to a project that had exceeded expectations.
Helping the Phelps was rewarding on a whole other level, he said. “While it was an honor to be awarded and commended for our accomplishments as an up-and-coming business, it still pales in comparison to the feeling I had when I first heard Carl tell his wife ‘I love you,’” Seaman said.
Kevin McGuire shared similar comments, even as he expressed excitement about the Love’s Cup win.
“It gave a real sense of accomplishment, that no matter how the contest went, the project had been a success since we had gotten it into the hands of even one person who truly needed it,” he said.
Unexpected benefits
Janice Phelps said while the voice that is emitted from the VisuALS device isn’t her husband’s natural vocalization, it has become dear to her all the same.
“I always tease him that it’s his Hollywood voice,” she said, chuckling.
She said the device has helped the family in unexpected ways, including giving her husband an opportunity to weigh in on the family’s income taxes, which he had always done before. Janice Phelps said he was able to answer some of questions that she and the family’s tax adviser had during tax season.
She said he also is able to interact during the family’s Bible study time, which is important to them. “The eye gaze is the only way he can communicate and we’re just thankful,” she said. “I don’t know what we would have done without it.”
Janice Phelps said she was pleasantly surprised to know that the students who made the life-changing device available to her husband were affiliated with a Church of Christ university because the family attends Southern Oaks Church of Christ in Chickasha.
Maher said the VisuALS project continues to bless everyone involved with it. “We’re just getting started,” he said. “We want to get it into the hands of 1,000 Carls.”