Fw: BlindNews: Device tests for eye damage: Blind may see with implants

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leon Gilbert" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Blind News Mailing List" <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2004 7:59 AM
Subject: BlindNews: Device tests for eye damage: Blind may see with implants


> Whittier Daily News
> Saturday, November 20, 2004
>
> Device tests for eye damage: Blind may see with implants
>
> By Kimm Groshong , Staff Writer
>
> LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE -- The cameralike systems astronauts rely on most
heavily during critical phases of space flight, including spacecraft
inspection after launch, are not high-tech. They're the astronauts' own
eyes. And there are several conditions in space that could damage those
valuable organs, such as heightened ultraviolet light exposure and elevated
pressure on the eyes. A simple and fast software- based test that could
serve as an autonomous diagnostic ophthalmologist in space would therefore
be a valuable asset for astronauts, said Wolfgang Fink, a researcher from
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech and USC at a public lecture Thursday
night at JPL.
> But astronauts are not the only ones who stand to benefit from such
technology, Fink said.
>
> The system he and his colleagues have developed checks peripheral vision
in a nontraditional way, decreases testing time and is more thorough than
currently used tests, he said.
>
> The output from the new test is a three-dimensional depiction of an
individual's visual field, which reveals a tell-tale shape, slope and extent
of any eye defects.
>
> By compiling a database of such results, the technology "could lead to
what I would call an autonomous physician,' Fink said.
>
> Later in the lecture, Fink posed the question, is blindness from diseases
such as macular degeneration irreversible? He said the answer is "not
necessarily.'
>
> At USC's Biomimetic MicroElectronic Systems center he and his colleagues,
including several from Caltech, have created a system designed to help blind
people see. The system involves an external camera and processing unit and
an implanted electrode that can stimulate the retina in the eye, translating
to images in the optical cortex of the brain.
>
> So far, the team has implanted six patients, some of whom have been blind
for more than 50 years, for clinical testing. At this point the system is
very simple, providing only a vague sense of what lies before the camera.
But going forward, the team's goal is to enhance the image several times.
>
> The system allows the patient to see a black-and-white image of
4-pixel-by-4-pixel resolution. Once the resolution gets up to 32 by 32
pixels, an implantee would be able to recognize people.
>
> Fink said even 16-by-16 pixel units are at least 10 years away from common
usage. But his diagnostic test method should be available on the Internet
much sooner. The first report of its results has already been accepted by a
ophthalmology journal for publication. Kimm Groshong can be reached at (626)
578-6300, Ext. 4451, or by e-mail at kimm.groshong@xxxxxxxx .
>
>
> http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~2546676,00.html
>
>
>
>
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