http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/ Engadget Comments for MIT's portable 'seeing machine' for the blind enters testing http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 9:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 9:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
Not a bad choice though.]]>Jan 14th 2009 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 11:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 12:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
But this is pretty cool too, no doubt it'll have many more uses.]]>Jan 14th 2009 10:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
This might be expensive but it won't rely on cutting people open.]]>Jan 14th 2009 10:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 11:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
Check out http://www.the-lasik-directory.com/crystalens.html .

So have cornea transplants.]]>Jan 14th 2009 8:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 15th 2009 3:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 1:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
O.O]]>Jan 14th 2009 10:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
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. ]]>Jan 14th 2009 10:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
Um, macular degeneration is a condition of the retina, not the lens. Other end of the eye, you know.]]>Jan 14th 2009 10:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 11:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 1:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 11:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 11:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 12:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
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.
]]>Jan 14th 2009 12:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 1:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
hoax]]>Jan 14th 2009 1:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 18th 2009 1:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 2:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 4:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/Jan 14th 2009 8:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
Not sure what the exact purpose of this camera is. Something I missed in the article, perhaps?]]>Jan 14th 2009 8:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/14/mits-portable-seeing-machine-for-the-blind-enters-testing/
...just pointing out using a full consmer digital camera seems a bit overkill.]]>Jan 15th 2009 3:46PM