US 2013/0157229 A1 · Text Reading and Translation in a Visual Prosthesis

Abstract

The present invention is a visual prosthesis which restores partial vision to patients blinded by outer retinal degeneration. While visual prosthesis users have achieved remarkable visual improvement to the point of reading letters and short sentences, the reading process is still fairly cumbersome. In the present invention the visual prosthesis is adapted to stimulate visual braille as a sensory substitution for reading written letters and words. The visual prosthesis system, used in the present invention, includes a 10×6 electrode array implanted epiretinally, a tiny video camera mounted on a pair of glasses, and a wearable computer that processes the video and determines the stimulation current of each electrode in real time.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of processing written words in a visual prosthesis comprising:

providing a visual prosthesis including a camera video processor and stimulation system;
recording a scene with the camera and transferring data representing the scene to the video processor;
scanning the data for patterns representing written characters;
converting the written characters to braille characters;
and
presenting the braille characters to a user through the stimulation system.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

13/721,685Filed 20 Dec 2012

Priority

20 Dec 2011

Published

20 Jun 2013

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

G09B 21/001
Teaching, or communicating with, the blind, deaf or mute: teaching or communicating with blind persons
G09B 21/003
Teaching or communicating with blind persons: using tactile presentation of the information, e.g. Braille displays
G09B
Educational or demonstration appliances

Text Reading and Translation in a Visual Prosthesis

Life of this patent

Text Reading and Translation in a Visual Prosthesis

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20