Doctors say EMOJIS could be key to helping stroke patients communicate

Doctors say EMOJIS could be key to helping stroke patients communicate

• Kendrick Davis has been designing an emoji-based measurement system
• Read more: Do YOU know the true meaning of emoji? 

From  a ‘crying with laughter’ face to a space rocket, there’s an emoji for almost everything.

Now doctors have suggested they could be used to help stroke patients or those on ventilators express symptoms.

Kendrick Davis, a scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has been designing an emoji-based measurement system for the past two years.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, he said they could be a useful tool for patients who cannot speak. 

‘Emoji have universal appeal. Their use can bypass levels of education, language and age. They open a bridge for communication,’ he said.

Kendrick Davis, a scientist at the University of California, Riverside, has been designing an emoji-based measurement system for the past two years (File image)

Doctors have suggested they could be used to help stroke patients or those on ventilators express symptoms (File image)

‘They are so readily used in communication and exclude only few populations, such as the visually impaired.

‘Medical societies should come together to agree on a comprehensive set of symbols that are universally recognised and understood,’ he added.

‘By promoting effective communication between patients and care providers… a universal emoji-based language system with a common agreement of meanings can be developed.’

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