>>>>>>cut>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Yes, the goal (once again to the best of my recollection) was
to use inputs from cameras, preprocess them, and pass the image
on to the cortical stimulation array. I don't believe this
was ever achieved.
<<<I doubt if this will work. But the brain should have the
<<<ability to use the information anyway. A liquid crystal
<<<display coated with teflon may do the trick.
When the surface of visual cortex is stimulated, a point of light
called a "phosphene" appears somewhere in the visual field.
<<<sort like an oscillon from interacting wavelets which can
<<<only be located if you know the code of how the information
<<<is stored and processed.
The mapping between the cortical surface and the visual field is not
a straightforward thing, but can (at least theoretically) be mapped
out. I believe this research reached the level of being able
to produce recognizable letters with huge effort, but never
reached the level of simulating vision with cameras. Of course,
there is probably no control of color, contrast, etc.
<<<I believe the brain processes information by using a
<<<carrier frequency and information is written on that carrier
<<<frequency. If this is true then vision can be restored or
<<<significantly effected. Also color can be created using this
<<<procedure. I get these ideas from Correlational Opponent
<<<Processing which you can get a copy of from
<<<http://www.neutronicstechcorp.com or ftp://207.26.226.241
I don't know how I feel about this research. Opening a cranial vault
is not a trivial thing to do, especially when the chance of producing
a valuable visual aid will never be reached for many subjects (certainly
not for early subjects).
<<<Using the above theory I got four color blind students to
<<<see one of the colors for which they were color blind. The
<<<equipment was poor. I believe if I has the right equipment
<<<I could get them to see both colors they were missing.
However, I've been blessed with 20/20
best corrected vision, and might think differently if I were visually
impaired. Fortunately, universities have people in place to deal
with quadries like this. If such research is still being done, at least
it is being done after full review by a human subjects committee
and complete, detailed, informed consent of the subjects (at least in
the US).
Ray, you're a biomedical engineer at heart
Scott
Scott Seidman
Univ. of Rochester Med. Ctr. Phone(716)275-6399
Dept. of Neurology, Box 605 Fax(716)244-4617
601 Elmwood Ave email seidman at cvs.rochester.edu
Rochester, NY 14642
