MIT's portable 'seeing machine' for the blind enters testing

Many who are legally blind have functional retinas locked behind lenses so clouded they can't see a thing. Doctors can detect this type of ocular defect using a scanning laser opthalmoscope (or SLO), and can even focus an image onto those hidden retinas to allow the blind to see -- temporarily, since a cost of $100,000 and a rather non-portable design means SLO's are only suited for medical offices. We reported back in 2006 on the efforts of MIT's Elizabeth Goldring and colleagues to create a cheaper, portable version, and now a prototype is entering testing. It's comprised of a digital camera (looks like possibly a Lumix DMC-TZ50) mounted to an LED-backlit LCD that is able to focus to a point, penetrating lenses damaged by glaucoma or macular degeneration. No word on when this sort of thing might be generally available, but testing will take place at the Beetham Eye Institute in Boston, so head on over if you want to get some eyes-on time with one of these.

[Via tgdaily]

[AMiSH PiRATE @ Jan 14th 2009 9:35AM]

kudos for the use of a gorilla grip tripod. anti-kudos for using it as a monopod.

[Seneca @ Jan 14th 2009 9:36AM]

What's the article saying? I can't read it, it looks kind of fuzzy.

[Seneca @ Jan 14th 2009 9:38AM]

The caption should be "better 1, or 2? 1 or 2?"

[STEVEN TEARLE @ Jan 14th 2009 9:53AM]

COOL I LIKE MIT

[absinthe party @ Jan 14th 2009 11:11AM]

Maybe you can write MIT a letter and ask them to fix your Caps Lock key.

[Stereotype @ Jan 14th 2009 12:00PM]

+1 for Bananaman

[rcappo @ Jan 14th 2009 9:54AM]

I have that camera. It works pretty well except that the sensor is small and pictures are a little blurry when zoomed in. It does do HD video as well.

Not a bad choice though.

[superhobo @ Jan 14th 2009 10:00AM]

I thought doctors could replace lenses (or was that corneas?) by now.

[kjb434 @ Jan 14th 2009 10:21AM]

They can implant a new lens over the old one to allow vision correction.

[superhobo @ Jan 14th 2009 10:27AM]

For the purpose (people with good retinas but clouded lenses), I think it would be better to focus on research on artificial lenses.

But this is pretty cool too, no doubt it'll have many more uses.

[404 @ Jan 14th 2009 10:48AM]

Surgery is risky, expensive and relies on having donor/artificial lenses though.

This might be expensive but it won't rely on cutting people open.

[superhobo @ Jan 14th 2009 11:10AM]

Excellent point.

[bob @ Jan 14th 2009 8:26PM]

Lens replacement has been around for a while.

Check out http://www.the-lasik-directory.com/crystalens.html .

So have cornea transplants.

[tekd @ Jan 15th 2009 3:31AM]

I'm fairly certain this is more useful for diagnosing and checking to see if the patient's retina is A-OK and whatnot before you go and open up their eyeball for surgery.

[steve @ Jan 14th 2009 10:01AM]

This is amazing. I hope with the miniaturization of technology, this can become a truly revolutionary device and enable people to use it inexpensively.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 14th 2009 1:06PM]

Geordi visor, here we come!

[Gray @ Jan 14th 2009 10:15AM]

Neat... no.. awesome. Apx. 2 years from concept to testing - Lavar Burton would be pleased.

[GenBanks @ Jan 14th 2009 10:18AM]

I wonder what it's like zoom in with your eyes...

O.O

[Joe @ Jan 14th 2009 10:23AM]

It's nice to see that Meryl Streep is able to find work in between those fine movies that she makes.

[Marc @ Jan 14th 2009 10:39AM]

Good luck getting into concerts with that rig!

[Chris @ Jan 14th 2009 10:41AM]

I would think that focusing an image to a point be counterintuitive for sufferers of Macular Degeneration, which degrades vision at the center of the visual field, unlike Retinitis Pigmentosa, which degrades vision at the periphery...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_degeneration

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retinitis_pigmentosa

It's sad, though, that at the current state of technology the funding and effort behind this tech was not put into developing something that would be more useful to both MD and RP sufferers, the artificial retina, or at least the ability to transplant eyeballs and/or retinas and something like the laser treatments in the works to actually treat vision problems related to obscuring of the lens and/or cornea. This is the "techy" visual equivalent of the ear trumpet.

[Jon Wilson @ Jan 14th 2009 10:52AM]

"lenses damaged by glaucoma or macular degeneration"

Um, macular degeneration is a condition of the retina, not the lens. Other end of the eye, you know.

[nxp3 @ Jan 14th 2009 11:17AM]

I have had 2 lens implant in my eyes because of cataract. I suppose if the lens is cloudy it can be removed. It's not actually removed completely. A proceess call phaco emulsification breaks the internal part of the lens and is then sucked out, leaving a lens sac. The implant goes in the sac. If for some reason they can't remove the lens I would see this as being useful. But I think I would have more research on retinas than lens. I'm not just saying that because I also have retina problem, but I just think retina problem affect more people.

[rp @ Jan 14th 2009 1:13PM]

The imagery associated with your description is vomit-inducing, and I just ate breakfast.

[Bayard @ Jan 14th 2009 11:21AM]

this is reminiscent of the movie 'Until the End of the World', which is a great, offbeat movie.

[Scott @ Jan 14th 2009 11:53AM]

Reminds of Levar Burton from Star Trek TNG. I can envision a sort of visor that has two tiny LCDs that can focus to a point and two cameras.... really cool stuff

[Gyro @ Jan 14th 2009 12:34PM]

It's all good, except that if someone is blind from birth, and they are like in their 20-30's this thing won't help because their brain wouldn't be adapted to seeing.

[Reid @ Jan 14th 2009 12:42PM]

Ok, to fix some of this confusion (I am an Ophthalmology resident):

The LENS gets cloudy in a cataract. This can be surgical removed (via phacoemulsification or other techniques) and replaced with an artificial lens. This is a very very common and safe procedure. It is covered by all insurance companies.

The CORNEA can become cloudy in other diseases and can be replaced with a corneal transplant. This requires donor tissue from a deceased person. This is a more difficult operation and has less success but is also very common.


I don't really know the details of this "seeing machine" but if only helps you see through a cataract, it seems pretty limited in utility. Some patients do not want their cataracts removed or if they only have one eye it is more dangerous to do surgery. So some people could benefit from this, but in general I don't really see this having a huge utility. Definitely not worthy of an engadget post.

[nxp3 @ Jan 14th 2009 1:46PM]

Only single focal lens are covered. multifocal IOL are not...I had to pay about $5000 for restore and rezoom. It still didn't fix all my eye issue. Leens power only go to 6 diopter. Need additional lasik. The research on this machine definitely would be more usefull in other areas of eye problem.

[h0rk_ @ Jan 14th 2009 1:26PM]

why is the blind woman wearing glasses?

hoax

[Vash @ Jan 18th 2009 1:38AM]

Legally blind != blind.

[Jeff Lewis @ Jan 14th 2009 2:04PM]

Maybe I'm missing something - buuuuut.. why not just do lens replacement surgery? It's very commonly done for cateracts and can be done on people as old as 90 (my father just had it and he's 87). It does mean you have to wear glasses to correct for out of focus band viewing - but that seems a far simpler (and cheaper) solution than what this seems to be suggesting...

[im a pc @ Jan 14th 2009 4:22PM]

wow very cool

[Efrain Nieves @ Jan 14th 2009 8:27PM]

shit just what i need, effected with retinal detachment & glacoma. is there a trail?

[tiger7565 @ Jan 14th 2009 8:32PM]

Hmmm...I thought lenses could be replaced by cataract surgery. I couldn't see squat out of my left eye and had partial vision in my right. I have had both my lenses replaced via that procedure and I am as good as new.

Not sure what the exact purpose of this camera is. Something I missed in the article, perhaps?

[h8GWB @ Jan 15th 2009 3:46PM]

Sweet. So proud that the blind are using my camera model choice to turn them into gastly cyborgs.

...just pointing out using a full consmer digital camera seems a bit overkill.