Development of a new high sensitivity mechanical switch for augmentative and alternative communication access in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The study included only 20 people with advanced ALS, so it cannot show how the switch performs in earlier disease or in a wider group. The therapists who assessed participants were also the people who applied and taught the switch, and the study was not blinded. Satisfaction and adverse event information at follow-up came from the main caregiver by phone, so it may not fully reflect the patient's own view. Participants only replaced their previous switch with the LeMMS and kept the same communication software, so the study reports the effect of changing the activation device in one group. The number of activations in 30 seconds declined over 12 months, and several participants died or moved to eye tracking, so the switch did not maintain scanning ability for all participants. The participants were already regular users of AAC scanning or an emergency call system, so the findings may not apply to people who have never used AAC.

Do not conclude that the LeMMS is proven better than other switches or that it reliably maintains communication over time. The paper reports a single group of 20 people with advanced ALS, and the mean number of activations in 30 seconds fell from 25.2 at baseline to 10.8 at 12 months.