Research Indicates Opportunity to Improve Retinal Implants

Gizmodo reports that "it’s possible to restore some rough semblance of sight in the blind with artificial retinas. New research suggests that varying the length of the electrical pulses used to let a blind eye 'see' could enable much higher-resolution retinal implants, so that blind people can better navigate their environment with confidence." Read more.

Retinal Implants May Improve Sharpness of Images for Blind

"Retinal implants that deliver longer impulses may markedly improve image sharpness for blind individuals, report investigators," according to Science Digest. "Retinal implants (artificial retinas) give people with RP the ability to perceive light, using a system that includes a video camera mounted on a pair of eyeglasses, a video processing unit that transforms images from the camera into wirelessly transmitted electronic signals, and an implanted array of electrodes to stimulate visual neurons." Read more.

Bracelete Helps Sight-Challenged Navigate

"Based on the resonance location system (echo) used by bats and dolphins to navigate, Marco Antonio Trujillo Tejeda and Cuauhtli Padilla Arias, mechatronic engineers from the Tec de Monterrey in Mexico, devised a bracelet that makes mobility simpler and safer for the blind," reports Science Digest. "Sunu band bracelet emits high-frequency sound waves (30 pulses per second) that bounce after hitting an object and are recorded by a proximity sensor that calculates the distance, which translates into vibrations directly into the wearer's wrist; as the person get closer to the objects, the pulses will be more frequent." Read more.

Use It, Or Lose It--Even Eyes

"At some point back in deep time, a group of fish were washed into a limestone cave somewhere in northeastern Mexico," reports the Guardian. "With no way out and little more than bat droppings to eat, the fish began to adapt to their new troglodytic lifestyle. Unable to see other members of their group in the dark, they lost their colourful pigmentation. Then they lost their eyesight, their eyes gradually got smaller, and then disappeared altogether.This was accompanied by a dramatic reduction in the size of the brain’s visual system." Read more.

How the Blind "See" Race

"'The visual process of assigning race is instantaneous, and it's an example of automatic thinking -- it happens below the level of awareness,' [Asia] Friedman [,assistant professor at the University of Delaware,] said. 'With blind people, the process is much slower as they piece together information about a person over time. Their thinking is deliberative rather than automatic, and even after they've categorized someone by race, they're often not certain that they're correct.'" That's from a post on Medical News Today. Read more.

Sight Regions of Brain Learn to Respond to Sound, Says Study

"By early childhood, the sight regions of a blind person's brain respond to sound, especially spoken language, a Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist has found," according to Science Digest. "The results, published this week in The Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that a young, developing brain has a striking capacity for functional adaptation." Read more.

FDA Allows Marketing of a Device that Orients the Blind

"The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has allowed marketing of a new device that when used along with other assistive devices, like a cane or guide dog, can help orient people who are blind by helping them process visual images with their tongues," reports Medical News Today. "The BrainPort V100 is a battery-powered device that includes a video camera mounted on a pair of glasses and a small, flat intra-oral device containing a series of electrodes that the user holds against their tongue. Software converts the image captured by the video camera in to electrical signals that are then sent to the intra-oral device and perceived as vibrations or tingling on the user's tongue. With training and experience, the user learns to interpret the signals to determine the location, position, size, and shape of objects, and to determine if objects are moving or stationary." Read more.

Blind Use Echolocators and Access the Visual Cortex

"Canadian expert Mel Goodale determines echolocators use echoes to detect multiple properties of objects through areas of the brain associated with vision," writes Medical News Today. "Certain blind individuals have the ability to use echoes from tongue or finger clicks to recognize objects in the distance, and some use echolocation as a replacement for vision. Research done by Dr. Mel Goodale, from the University of Western Ontario, in Canada, and colleagues around the world, is showing that echolocation in blind individuals is a full form of sensory substitution, and that blind echolocation experts recruit regions of the brain normally associated with visual perception when making echo-based assessments of objects. Dr. Goodale's latest results were presented at the 9th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting in Vancouver British Columbia." Read more.

Bluetooth Beacons Assist Blind in London Subway

"A ground-breaking trial is underway at Pimlico Underground station to assist blind and partially sighted people to navigate independently, using Bluetooth beacons and a smartphone app," according to Medical News Today. "The Wayfindr system has been developed by ustwo, a studio which builds digital products and services, in response to the RLSB Youth Forum's desire to be able to navigate London Underground (LU) without assistance. The beacons transmit a signal that can be picked up by smartphones and mobile devices. Wayfindr uses these signals with ustwo's indoor positioning technology to locate itself and give audible directions to the user. The app is paired with commonly available 'bone conduction' earphones that do not prevent wearers from hearing the sounds around them." Read more.

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Teaching Skiing to the Blind and Visually Impaired

The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) and the Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center are teaching alpine skiing and Nordic skiing to blind and visually impaired teens and adults, including veterans and active duty service members. The annual USABA camp began yesterday at the resort and the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center, which will provide trained ski guides. The program has been supported by Anthem Life Insurance Company. United States Marine Corp veteran Richard Hunter, the conference's guest speaker, was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. He has not let the complications from the disease define him. He is a four-time Boston Marathon Age Group Qualifier. He is ranked as the third fastest visually impaired person in North America to participate in the 70.3 Ironman distance. He is the second visually impaired person to complete the full Ironman in less than 12 hours. And, he completed the 2014 Sharkfest Alcatraz Swim and the 2013 American River 50 Mile Endurance Run. In addition, he was just selected as the 2014 Road Runners Club of America’s Outstanding Challenged Athlete Award recipient. Read more.

New Tech Device Helps the Blind Navigate

"White Canes provide low-tech assistance to the visually impaired, but some blind people object to their use because they are cumbersome, fail to detect elevated obstacles, or require long training periods to master." That's the start of Medical News Today post. "Electronic travel aids (ETAs) have the potential to improve navigation for the blind, but early versions had disadvantages that limited widespread adoption. A new ETA, the 'EyeCane,' developed by a team of researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, expands the world of its users, allowing them to better estimate distance, navigate their environment, and avoid obstacles, according to a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience." Read more.

Loss of Eyesight Has Greatest Impact

"Many Americans across racial and ethnic groups describe losing eyesight as potentially having the greatest impact on their day-to-day life, more so than other conditions including: loss of limb, memory, hearing and speech (57% of African-Americans, 49% of non-Hispanic whites, 43% of Asians and 38% of Hispanics)," reports Medical News Today. "When asked which disease or ailment is the worst that could happen to them, blindness ranked first among African-Americans followed by AIDS/HIV. Hispanics and Asians ranked cancer first and blindness second, while Alzheimer's disease ranked first among non-Hispanic whites followed by blindness. When asked about various possible consequences of vision loss, "quality of life" ranked as the top concern by non-Hispanic whites (73%) and Asians (68%) while African-Americans (66%) and Hispanics (63%) ranked "loss of independence" as number one." Read more.

Tactile Technology Helps the Blind

"Imagine feeling a slimy jellyfish, a prickly cactus or map directions on your iPad mini Retina display, because that's where tactile technology is headed. But you'll need more than just an index finger to feel your way around," says Science Daily. "New research at UC Berkeley has found that people are better and faster at navigating tactile technology when using both hands and several fingers. Moreover, blind people in the study outmaneuvered their sighted counterparts -- especially when using both hands and several fingers -- possibly because they've developed superior cognitive strategies for finding their way around." Read more.