From: hlr@well.sf.ca.us (Howard Rheingold)
Subject: Dobelle et.al. work on visual prosthesis
Date: 19 Feb 90 06:39:59 GMT
Message-ID: <16256@well.sf.ca.us>




Well, I've finally gotten around to taking a "Sensation & Perception" course,
and I bumped into a blurb in my text that summarized the work of Dobelle
et al, and his work on creating a visual prosthesis for the blind that used
subminiature video cameras inside glass eyes.  The vidcams sent their output to
very small computers mounted in dummy glasses which processed the signal and
then sent small impulses to an array of electrodes placed on the surface of
the visual cortex.

The first experiment used an array of 64 electrodes and was moderately
successful, but Dobelle had plans to develop a 512-electrode version that
promised much better imaging.  Does anyone know what happened?  I haven't had
a chance to look up the papers that are cited (Dobelle et al., 1974, 1976;
Dobelle 1977), though, so maybe they give a clue...  Is anyone familiar with
this stuff???  It sure was quite a while back....
                                                -CCb

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