Lighthouse International Researches New Device that enables People Who are Blind and Visually Impaired to "see" Shapes and Objects (Archive)
WHO AND WHAT:
Dr. William Seiple, Vice President and Director of the Arlene Gordon Research Institute at Ligthhouse International, will demonstrate a new vision device, BrainPort®, for people who are blind and visually impaired. Albert Rizzi and Nihal Erkan, two patients who are blind and who have trained on the Brainport, will participate.
The demonstration will involve using the device (which is placed on the tongue and is connected to a camera) to discern letters, shapes and objects. Mobility using this device will also be demonstrated.
The non-surgical BrainPort® vision device is an investigational assistive device for orientation, mobility, object identification and spot reading. It enables perception of visual information using the tongue and camera system as a paired substitute for the eye. Visual information is collected from a video camera and translated into gentle electrical stimulation patterns on the surface of the tongue. Users describe it as pictures drawn on their tongue with champagne bubbles. With training, users may perceive shape, size, location and motion of objects in their environment. The BrainPort ® vision device is intended to augment, rather than replace, other assistive technology, such as the white cane or guide dog.
Brainport® is produced by Wicab, a biomedical engineering company based in Wisconsin. Brainport is an investigational device and is still in a prototype and has not yet been submitted to the FDA for clearance or approval.
Ligthhouse has been asked by Wicab to test the efficacy of the prototype for use in everyday life. This study, which will involve 10 patients over a three-month period, is being conducted under Institutional Review Board approved protocols and with the participant's consents.
WHEN:
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
WHERE:
Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th Street New York City (between Park and Lexington).
