Aimee L. Arnoldussen - US grants

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop and test a tongue brain-machine interface (BMI) capable of sufficiently enhancing quality of life (QoL) of blind persons to be valuable assistive technology. Investigation will be carried out along 4 interrelated lines: 1- Optimization of the technology; 2- Psychophysical investigation of the match between TVSS system and perceptual capabilities of users; 3- Investigation of changes in perceptual motor processes and capabilities of users. 4- Monitoring and analysis of usage, challenges, and opportunities the system may afford users. Studies on 1 will be carried out in Madison. Studies on 2 will be conducted at Harvard University in Boston, where the program of psychophysical assessment will address a number of aspects of visual perception with the simulators and will also assess changes that might occur in these functions with moderate level of adaptation to the device. The program will include basic testing aimed at determining the level of pattern vision provided by the system in ways similar to testing of basic visual function in observers starting with static stimuli generated by the computer, as well as full function assessments enabling the user to combined all of the flexibility and active exploration provided by head mounted camera in a simulated environment. Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee will address [unreadable] areas 3& 4 to determine the way a wearable TVSS influences the actions of the wearers from very controlled motor control assessments to Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and societal participation measures. Pilot data shows that TVSS users develop new perceptual motor skills in the first few hours of training. The population of active and adventuresome adults, while least likely to experience QoL changes, will be the most demanding consumers encountering a large variety of challenges for use of the system. Ongoing evaluation of usage and problem solving will be conducted with Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) using cellular phones with PDA capabilities. This will allow for compliance or usage tracking, contingent sampling and purposive sampling throughout the study on each wearer, allowing the iterative process necessary for optimization of the system. The study of the capacity of motivated blind persons to extract meaningful information with frequent use of a wearable, user friendly and slightly higher resolution version of the present system will occur in parallel with the technology optimization and psychophysics. [unreadable] [unreadable]

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goals of this Phase I proposal are (1) to develop a prototype of a novel vision-assisting device that `displays'images from the area of vision loss (derived from a user's scotoma region) on the tongue and (2) to establish the proof of principle that individuals with macular degeneration can use the device to identify letters displayed in their area of vision loss. Macular degeneration is a progressive disease that gradually destroys the central vision, making reading difficult or impossible. This disease affects more than 1.75 million people in the U.S. and frequently lessens the quality of life. Current vision-assisting devices that do not require surgery can exploit only the peripheral vision, which lacks the acuity of central vision. There is a critical, unmet need for a vision-assisting device that can provide a high-resolution image of the environment by augmenting, not obscuring, the user's peripheral vision. The long-term goal is to develop a lightweight, fully portable, wearable, and unobtrusive device that will track with the user's gaze, capture information about the environment from the area of vision loss, and display the information on the tongue. This proposed device will `fill in'the area of vision loss, will be compatible with the user's own corrective eyewear or other vision-assisting devices, will not be surgically invasive, and will be easily customizable and upgradeable. The unique prototype device will be desktop computer-based and will integrate the tongue display component of Wicab's BrainPort-Blind vision technology with a commercially available eye-tracking device. The device will acquire, store, and load the portion of an image displayed on an LCD computer monitor that corresponds to the user's lost area of vision due to macular degeneration and will display that portion of the image on an electrode array held on the tongue. To use printing as an analogy, the proposed array will present an image at 25 dots per inch (DPI) resolution. The integrated eye tracking system will ensure that the partial image displayed on the tongue always correlates with the lost area of vision as the user's eyes scan across the image on the monitor. Study subjects will participate for eight days, will undergo a clinical vision test before and after training/testing on the device, will receive five 2-hour training sessions and will demonstrate skill mastery with a final set of tests using the BrainPort-MD device. This research will include collecting subject feedback regarding the training regimen and the usability of the device throughout the study to assist in refining the device and training methods used. At the end of the study, data from the letter recognition tests will be analyzed. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Macular degeneration progressively destroys a person's central vision. The proposed BrainPort Macular Degeneration Device will track the user's gaze, will capture information about the environment in the area where the user has lost vision, and will 'display'that information on the tongue to augment the vision of individuals with macular degeneration. This proposed device will `fill in'the area of vision loss to help individuals with macular degeneration to perceive more of their surroundings.