Equipment to help the blind see

Sensory replacement devices (SSDs) provide visual information to the visually impaired via a micro-video recorder connected to a computer (or smartphone) and a stereo headset.

The images recorded by the video recorder are converted into 'audio space' using a special algorithm that allows the user to hear the picture information coming from the video recorder.

To use this equipment effectively, the blind man must undergo a training session. After 70 hours of training at the laboratory of Amir Amedi at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the blind people involved in the experiments were able to distinguish images of faces, people, houses, and fabrics.

They may also perceive more complex movements such as locating and expressing facial expressions, even reading the script.

Illustration from Science Daily

The team also recorded visual evalua- tions in the participants' brain by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Professor Amedi says the experiment shows that the brain in the blind can be awakened to handle image information and be more active if the study is applied.

He argues that adults' brains are more flexible than we think, many areas of the brain not just for specific senses, but for collaborations and calculations in different ways to be most effective. .

The study was published in Neuron.