Contact Mike Brown
on 0181 362 5920 27 March 1996
Middlesex University post-doctoral researcher Dr Nick Pickett is working with children at Great Ormond Street Hospital to enable them to make music despite being severely handicapped.
"I am working on designs for new instruments which can be played with little or no hand movement," said Dr Pickett. "The designs range from acoustic woodwind inst~ments to computer-based instruments controlled by mouth, or foot movement."
Other areas being investigated inclide bio-feeback, and even thought control.
Dr Pickett has rigged up a "musical" hot water bottle for one five-year-old girl who has only slight movement in one hand and one foot. By pressing on the hot water bottle she is able to hear the music she is "playing". The sound is also linked to a computerised VDU which has graphics of the tune being played. The same little girl can also play a tune although she is being artificially ventilated.
"The use of electronic wind instruments requiring only a small fraction of lung pressure compared 0 conventional acoustic instruments has encouraged some children to use their own breathing mechanism after being ventilated for some
time," said Dr Pickett.