Another case of a man-made peripheral to the human brain
When we discussed the cochlear implant in class, I was wondering whether a visual implant was plausible. This device uses the retina. A more interesting device would not need the retina but would be able to speak directly to the brain.
Beyond the Mind's Eye
MIT News (01/13/09) Thomson, Elizabeth A.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) Center for Advanced Visual Studies have spent more than 20 years working on a "seeing machine" that will make it possible for some people who are blind or visually challenged to view images. The research, led by MIT's Elizabeth Goldring, has evolved from a large diagnostic device that costs about $100,000 to a portable seeing machine that costs less than $500. The device can be connected to any visual source, such as a video camera or a desktop computer. "When someone has a diminished sense, the inability to express yourself with that sense can be frustrating," says Goldring, who is blind in one eye. The concept behind the seeing machine came from one of Goldring's visits to an optometrist, when technicians used a scanning laser opthalmoscope (SLO) to determine if she had any healthy retina left by projecting a simple image directly onto the retina of one eye. Goldring was able to see the test image, read her own handwriting, and see a video of her optometrist. SLOs are prohibitively expensive, but the portable device developed by the MIT researchers replaces the laser of the SLO with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which cost much less but produce high-intensity light. MIT's device receives a visual feed from the camera, which is projected onto a liquid crystal display illuminated by LEDs. The visual data is then focused into a single "point" that is sent into the eye.
Beyond the Mind's Eye
MIT News (01/13/09) Thomson, Elizabeth A.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) Center for Advanced Visual Studies have spent more than 20 years working on a "seeing machine" that will make it possible for some people who are blind or visually challenged to view images. The research, led by MIT's Elizabeth Goldring, has evolved from a large diagnostic device that costs about $100,000 to a portable seeing machine that costs less than $500. The device can be connected to any visual source, such as a video camera or a desktop computer. "When someone has a diminished sense, the inability to express yourself with that sense can be frustrating," says Goldring, who is blind in one eye. The concept behind the seeing machine came from one of Goldring's visits to an optometrist, when technicians used a scanning laser opthalmoscope (SLO) to determine if she had any healthy retina left by projecting a simple image directly onto the retina of one eye. Goldring was able to see the test image, read her own handwriting, and see a video of her optometrist. SLOs are prohibitively expensive, but the portable device developed by the MIT researchers replaces the laser of the SLO with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which cost much less but produce high-intensity light. MIT's device receives a visual feed from the camera, which is projected onto a liquid crystal display illuminated by LEDs. The visual data is then focused into a single "point" that is sent into the eye.
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