Tasting the Light
Scientific American; Oct2009, Vol. 301 Issue 4, p22-24, 2p, 2 color
Mandy Kendrick
Section: NEWS SCAN
Technology
Technology Device lets the visually impaired "see" with their tongues abstract...click on permalink for access to full article
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(Centaurus Warriors log in from home but not at school)
THE LATE NEUROSCIENTIST PAUL BACH-Y-RITA HYPOTHESIZED in the 1960s that "we see with our brains not our eyes." Now a noninvasive device trades on that thinking and aims to partially restore the experience of seeing for the visually impaired by relying on the nerves on the tongue's surface to send light signals to the brain.
The article discusses technology by the U.S. company Wicab that lets blind people see by using their tongues. The focus of the article is a device called BrainPort, which is a sunglasses-mounted camera which sends data to a handheld unit. The unit converts light into electrical signals that the tongue can detect. Topics include how BrainPort allows blind people to interpret spatial information minutes after using the device and criteria for monitoring the progress of artificial sight.
Technology
Technology
Technology