[Nfbf-l] Now see with your tongue

[Marion & Martin]

Dear All,
    Research in artificial eyesight is interesting to me. As we take steps 
through the r&D of technology, what actually becomes a "final: product 
evolves; therefore, what starts out on the tongue may end up directly on the 
occipital lobe of our brains!
    What I find interesting about this research is that they mount the 
camera on sunglasses! Where else would you mount a device to help blind 
people see? Don't you know every blind person wears sunglasses! (sarcastic 
smile)

fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "taraprakash" <taraprakash at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 3:10 PM
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Now see with your tongue


> Tasting The Light - Device Lets The Blind See With
> TheirTongues
>
>
> August 13, 2009
> Tasting the Light: Device Lets the Blind "See" with Their Tongues
> A pair of sunglasses wired to an electric "lollipop" helps the visually
> impaired regain optical sensations via a different pathway
> By Mandy Kendrick
>
> Neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita hypothesized in the 1960s that "we see 
> with
> our brains not our eyes." Now, a new device trades on that thinking and 
> aims
> to partially restore the experience of vision for the blind and visually
> impaired by relying on the nerves on the tongue's surface to send light
> signals
> to the brain.
>
> Legal blindness is defined by U.S. law as vision that is 20/200 or worse, 
> or
> has a field of view that is less than 20 degrees in diameter. The 
> condition
> afflicts more than one million Americans over the age of 40, according to
> the National Institutes of Health. Adult vision loss costs the country 
> about
> $51.4 billion per year.
>
> About two million optic nerves are required to transmit visual signals 
> from
> the retina-the portion of the eye where light information is decoded or
> translated
> into nerve pulses-to the brain's primary visual cortex. With BrainPort, 
> the
> device being developed by neuroscientists at Middleton, Wisc.-based Wicab,
> Inc. (a company co-founded by the late Back-y-Rita), visual data are
> collected through a small digital video camera about 1.5 centimeters in
> diameter that
> sits in the center of a pair of sunglasses worn by the user. Bypassing the
> eyes, the data are transmitted to a handheld base unit, which is a little
> larger
> than a cell phone. This unit houses such features as zoom control, light
> settings and shock intensity levels as well as a central processing unit
> (CPU),
> which converts the digital signal into electrical pulses-replacing the
> function of the retina.
>>From the CPU, the signals are sent to the tongue via a "lollipop," an
> electrode array about nine square centimeters that sits directly on the
> tongue. Each
> electrode corresponds to a set of pixels. White pixels yield a strong
> electrical pulse, whereas black pixels translate into no signal. Densely
> packed nerves
> at the tongue surface receive the incoming electrical signals, which feel 
> a
> little like Pop Rocks or champagne bubbles to the user.
>
> It remains unclear whether the information is then transferred to the
> brain's visual cortex, where sight information is normally sent, or to its
> somatosensory
> cortex, where touch data from the tongue is interpreted, Wicab
> neuroscientist Aimee Arnoldussen says. "We don't know with certainty," she
> adds.
> Like learning to ride a bike
> In any case, within 15 minutes of using the device, blind people can begin
> interpreting spatial information via the BrainPort, says William Seiple,
> research
> director at the nonprofit vision healthcare and research organization
> Lighthouse International. The electrodes spatially correlate with the 
> pixels
> so that
> if the camera detects light fixtures in the middle of a dark hallway,
> electrical stimulations will occur along the center of the tongue.
>
> "It becomes a task of learning, no different than learning to ride a 
> bike,"
> Arnoldussen says, adding that the "process is similar to how a baby learns
> to see. Things may be strange at first, but over time they become 
> familiar."
>
> Seiple works with four patients who train with the BrainPort once a week 
> and
> notes that his patients have learned how to quickly find doorways and
> elevator
> buttons, read letters and numbers, and pick out cups and forks at the 
> dinner
> table without having to fumble around. "At first, I was amazed at what the
> device could do," he said. "One guy started to cry when he saw his first
> letter."
>
> Wicab will submit BrainPort to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for
> approval at the end of the month, says Robert Beckman, president and chief
> executive
> officer of the company. He notes that the device could be approved for
> market by the end of 2009 at a cost of about $10,000 per machine.
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