Developed by assistant professor Maysam Ghovanloo and his students in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (GT-Bionics Lab), the Tongue Drive System was named as one of the 17 projects to be selected as finalists for the 2010 da Vinci Awards. The Tongue Drive System enables victims of severe spinal cord injuries to operate a wheelchair and a mouse cursor with their tongues. Currently, the program is undergoing clinical trials.

Named after Leonadro da Vinci, the da Vinci Awards is an internationally recognized forum for research and development of technologies to grant equal access for all people. The annual da Vinci Awards recognize the most innovative developments in the field of adaptive and assistive technologies. The finalists will be recognized on September 30, 2010 at an awards event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.