Gadget that Helps the Blind See Using their Tongues has been Approved by the FDA

Technology and Science have come along way. In the medical field particularly, many innovative solutions have already been made to help individuals with illnesses and disabilties to overcome or manage their conditions better. There are inventions made to help a man who have no legs walk, a deaf to hear and more recently a blind person to see.

Introducing Brain Port V100!

This invetion used a similar technologic system that powered a device for deaf people to hear using their tongues. It converts sounds into distinct vibrational patterns which can be felt by the tongue and interpreted by the brain. The Brain Port V100 captures a person's surrounding via a small video camera attached to a pair of dark glasses. The recordings are then converted into electrical signals by a software after which are transmitted to a flat, electrode-studded mouthpiece. The tongue will pick up different sensations which pixels are encoded in.

Any white pixels would produce very strong vibrations in the tongue, black signals on the other hand would not have any stimulation while grey pixels would carry moderate stimulation. Using the different signals, users can decode this to determine location and position of objects, size and shape as well as movement. 

However, training must take place first before the user can start processing images effectively. It averagely takes about 10 hours of one-on-one practice session to be able to learn how to interpret the signals properly. 

The gadget has been tested with individuals who have inborn and acquired blindness. Out of the 74 test subjects, 69% reported to be able to successfully identify images in an object recognition test after only a year's worth of training. There were also no serious side-effects were reported from the research aside from experiencing a slight sting.

There is still room for improvement with the gadget and more thorough research are still being implemented. Just recently, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has already approved this technology which allows the researchers to acquire more support and investments for the project.

When the design of the Brain Port V100 is finally complete, it could pave way in giving significant help towards millions of individuals who have this disability across the world. From a person being very dependent, this advancement would allow them to be more autonomous and live better lives. 

The continuous strive for discovering and creating new innovations such as this is essential for the improvement and betterment of human well-being.

Watch the video below to learn mor about the science behind the Brain Port V100: