In recent years, the number of bedridden patients, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, has been increasing with the aging of the population, owing to advances in medical and long-term care technology. Eye movements are physical functions that are relatively difficult to be affected, even if the symptoms of ALS progress. Focusing on this point, in this paper, in order to improve the quality of life (QOL) of bedridden patients, including ALS patients, we propose a drone system connected to the Internet that can be remotely controlled using only their eyes. In order to control the drone by using only their eyes, a control screen and an eye-tracking device were used in this system. By using this system, for example, the patients in New York can operate the drone in Kyoto using only their eyes, enjoy the scenery, and talk with people in Kyoto. In this drone system, since a time delay could occur depending on the Internet usage environment, agile operation is required for remotely controlling the drone. Therefore, we introduce the design of the control screen focused on remote control operability and human eye movements (microsaccades). Furthermore, considering the widespread future use of this system, it is desirable to use a commercial drone. Accordingly, we describe the design of a joystick control device to physically control the joysticks of various drone controllers. Finally, we present experimental results to verify the effectiveness of this system, including the control screen and the joystick control device.

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The use of a remote-controlled drone system (RDS) by eye movements was studied to assist patients in psychiatric long-term care (PLTC) to allow them to view the environment outside the hospital, hoping that this will bring them some enjoyment. However, successfully applying this system requires human intermediaries in facilitating the interactions between patients and RDS operators. The aim of the study was to describe the role of nurses as intermediaries in the application of an RDS through eye movements of patients PLTC. This study employed the Intentional Observational Clinical Research Design. Data collection was performed in November 2021 at a psychiatric hospital with selected patients in PLTC. Seventeen patients took part in the indoor experiment, whereas 23 patients took part in the outdoor experiment. Fifteen of the 23 patients in the outdoor experiment were the same patients who took part in the indoor experiment. Most of the patients in the indoor and outdoor test arenas could successfully, delightfully, and safely fly the drone. This study demonstrated that RDS using just eye movements could increase the quality of life in older patients with psychiatric problems in PLTC. For the successful use of this drone system, nurse intermediaries assumed critically significant roles.

With the aging of the population in Japan, the number of bedridden patients who need long-term care is increasing. The Japanese government has been promoting the creation of an environment that enables everyone, including bedridden patients, to enjoy travel, based on the principle of normalization. However, it is difficult for bedridden patients to enjoy the scenery of distant places and to talk with the local people because they need support from helpers to travel to distant places using travel agencies. Therefore, to enhance their quality of life (QOL), we developed a remote-controlled drone system, which involves using only the eyes. We believe that bedridden patients are able to operate the system’s drone in a distant place, to easily view the scenery of the distant place with a camera installed on the drone, and to talk with the local people. However, we have never evaluated whether actual bedridden patients can operate the drone in a distant place, to see the scenery, and to talk with the local people. In this paper, we presented clinical experimental results to verify the effectiveness of this drone system. Findings showed that, not only subjects with relatively high levels of independence in activities of daily living, but also bedridden subjects, could operate the drone at a distant place with only their eyes and communicate with others.