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Maltron Ergonomic Keyboards
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  • Training
    • Single Left Hand >
      • Left hand exercise 1
      • Left hand exercise 2
      • Left hand exercise 3, 4a, 4b
      • Left hand exercise 5
      • Left hand exercise 6a & 6b
      • Left hand exercise 7
      • Left hand exercise 8
      • Left hand exercise 9
      • Left hand exercise 10
      • Left hand exercise 11a & 11b
      • Left hand exercise 12
      • Left hand exercise 13
      • Left hand exercise 14
      • Left hand exercise 15
      • Left hand exercise 16
      • Left hand exercise 17
      • Left hand exercise 18
      • Left hand exercise 19
      • Left hand exercise 20a & 20b
      • Left hand exercise 21
      • Left hand exercise 22
      • Left hand exercise 23
      • Left hand exercise 24
      • Left hand exercise 25
      • Left hand exercise 26
      • Left hand exercise 27
      • Left hand exercise 28
      • Left hand exercise 29
      • Left hand exercise 30
      • Left hand exercise 31
      • Left hand exercise 32
      • Left hand exercise 33
      • Left hand exercise 34 Numbers
      • Left hand exercise 35 - Numbers
      • Left hand exercise 36 - Final
    • Single Right Hand >
      • Right hand exercise 1
      • Right hand exercise 2
      • Right hand exercise 3, 4a, 4b
      • Right hand exercise 5
      • Right hand exercise 6a & 6b
      • Right hand exercise 7
      • Right hand exercise 8
      • Right hand exercise 9
      • Right hand exercise 10
      • Right hand exercise 11a & 11b
      • Right hand exercise 12
      • Right hand exercise 13
      • Right hand exercise 14
      • Right hand exercise 15
      • Right hand exercise 16
      • Right hand exercise 17
      • Right hand exercise 18
      • Right hand exercise 19
      • Right hand exercise 20a & 20b
      • Right hand exercise 21
      • Right hand exercise 22
      • Right hand exercise 23
      • Right hand exercise 24
      • Right hand exercise 25
      • Right hand exercise 26
      • Right hand exercise 27
      • Right hand exercise 28
      • Right hand exercise 29
      • Right hand exercise 30
      • Right hand exercise 31
      • Right hand exercise 32
      • Right hand exercise 33
      • Right hand exercise 34 Numbers
      • Right hand exercise 35 - Numbers
      • Right hand exercise 36 - Final
    • 3D 89 Qwerty Introduction >
      • 3D 89 QWERTY - Posture
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      • 3D 89 QWERTY - General Instructions
      • 3D 89 QWERTY - Numbers 1
      • 3D 89 QWERTY - Numbers 2
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Rows & Columns for Fingers
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Finger layout & keyboard use
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Finger muscle relaxation
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 1a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 1b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 1c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 2a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 2b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 2c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 2d
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 3a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 3b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 3c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 4a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 4b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 4c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 5a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 5b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 5c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 6a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 6b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 6c
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 7
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 8a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 8b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 9a
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 9b
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 10
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 11
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 12
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 13
      • 3D 89 QWERTY Exercise 14
    • 3D 89 Maltron Introduction >
      • 3D 89 Maltron - Posture
      • 3D 89 Maltron Finger Positions
      • 3D 89 Maltron - General Instructions
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 1
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 2
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 3
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 4
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 5
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 6
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 7
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 8
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 9
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 10
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 11
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 12
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 13
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 14
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 15
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 16
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 17
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 18
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 19
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 20
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 21
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 22
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 23
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 24
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 25
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 26
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 27
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 28
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 29
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 30
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 31
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 32
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 33
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 34
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 35
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 36
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 37
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 38
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 39
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 40
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 41
      • 3D 89 Maltron Exercise 42 & 43
    • 3D 90 QWERTY Introduction >
      • 3D 90 QWERTY - Posture
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Finger Positions
      • 3D 90 QWERTY General Instructions
      • 3D 90 QWERTY - Numbers 1
      • 3D 90 QWERTY - Numbers 2
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Rows & Columns for Fingers
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Key Layout & Finger Use
      • 3D 90 QWERTY - Finger Muscle Relaxation
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 1a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 1b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 1c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 2a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 2b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 2c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 2d
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 3a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 3b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 3c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 4a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 4b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 4c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 5a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 5b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 5c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 6a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 6b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 6c
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 7
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 8a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 8b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 9a
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 9b
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 10
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 11
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 12
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 13
      • 3D 90 QWERTY Exercise 14
    • 3D 90 Maltron Introduction >
      • 3D 90 Maltron - Posture
      • 3D 90 Maltron - Finger Positions
      • 3D 90 Maltron General Instructions
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 1
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 2
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 3
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 4
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 5
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 6
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 7
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 8
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 9
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 10
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 11
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 12
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 13
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 14
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 15
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 16
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 17
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 18
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 19
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 20
      • 3D 90 Maltron Unit 3 Intro & Ex 21
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 22
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 23
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 24
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 25
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 26
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 27
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 28
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 29
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 30
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 31
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 32
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 33
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 34
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 35
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 36
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 37
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 38
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 39
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 40
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 41
      • 3D 90 Maltron Exercise 42 & 43
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Maltron Head or Mouth stick keyboard
Maltron Head or Mouth stick keyboard - Click to enlarge

Maltron Head / Mouth Stick Keyboard

Maltron Head or Mouth stick keyboard in useMaltron Head or Mouth stick keyboard in use
MALTRON Single finger or Head / Mouth stick keyboards have a unique shape and keyboard layout designed to minimise head or finger movement while keying.

Often described as a head keyboard, mouth keyboard or single-finger keyboard, the shape matches natural head movement and the key arrangement minimises finger or stick activity, raising speed and relieving frustration. Push-On, Push-Off keys are provided for Shift, Control and Alt.

The single finger, head or mouth stick keyboard can be used for conditions that exclude typing with the hands. It can be used on a table as shown, or attached to an articulated monitor arm adjusted to suit the user.  It is also fully ergonomic in that the rectangular front is concave to match stick end movement.  The letter layout, equally ergonomic, is arranged to have the most used letters grouped in the centre to give minimum movement.


MALTRON keyboards all have the ability to turn off key repeating at the keyboard if it is not wanted. If allowed by the software in use, the repeat rate can be set to SLOW, MEDIUM or FAST at the keyboard.

Language layouts available include Canadian-French, English UK, English US, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.


Comparison of Maltron Frequency of Use (FoU) layout to a standard Qwerty Keyboard
Analysis between the Maltron layout and use of a standard Qwerty keyboard show that the ratio between Qwerty and Maltron layout is 1.5 times.  This analysis has been undertaken using the Modern Prose source text and calculates the movement and distance travelled from key to key. Shifted keys (Capitals Etc.) add the additional distance required to move to the shift key before keying the shifted character.

Total characters typed
9,635,540
Qwerty distance moved
673.0 Kilometres
Maltron distance moved
449.8 Kilometres
Maltron / Qwerty ratio
1.50

"Frequency of Use" for Single Finger/Stick Use Letter Layouts
A sample of modern prose work by various authors has been analysed and shows the following graphical distribution with the letter placements on the mouth/head stick keyboard.



Frequency of Use analysis chart for Maltron key layout
Chart 1: Modern Prose FoU - Mouth/Head Stick Layout

Picture
The above chart shows the even spread of movement during writing.

Note: For clarity in the QWERTY diagram below, the space key has been shown on the bottom row. As a double key it is in fact closer to the main group.
Frequency of Use analysis chart for QWERTY key layout
Chart 2: Modern Prose FoU - Qwerty Keyboard Layout

Picture
Summary
The above charts show the advantage of the use of the Maltron keyboard over the use of a standard Qwerty type.  You can see that  on the Maltron Mouth / Head stick FoU layout, activity is reduced to the central group of keys. Although the ratio of 1.5 times for a Qwerty keyboard may not seem much at first glance, as the figures show this adds up to a significant difference over time. Additionally the amount of side to side movement is greatly reduced and more balanced with up and down movement. This is significant in reducing strain on the head, neck and upper body muscles.

Additional advantages of the Maltron Keyboard become apparent when you consider other forms of input, such as numerical data. The close proximity of the number pad area allows their easy use. Conversely on a standard Qwerty keyboard the number pad area is a significant distance from the main group of keys and may in fact be unusable.

 

Specifications
Width:     31cm
Depth:     20cm
Height:     9.5cm
Weight:     0.75kg
Connectivity:     USB
Cable Length:     2.0m (approx)
Compatability:     PC
Mounting:     Standard VESA 100mm

Copyright (c) PCD Maltron Ltd.  UK Company Registration: 01309051  UK VAT Number: 347344351