Abstract
The Monash Vision Group is developing a bionic eye based on an implantable cortical visual prosthesis. The visual prosthesis aims to restore vision to blind people by electrical stimulation of the visual cortex of the brain. Due to the expected naivety of early prostheses, there is need for the development of innovative pre-processing of scene information in order to provide the most intuitive representation to user. However, in order to explore solutions to this need, prior to availability of functional implants, a simulator system is required. In this paper, we present a portable, real-time simulator and psychophysical evaluation platform that we have developed called the ‘HatPack’. It makes use of current neurophysiological models of visuotopy and overcomes limitations of existing systems. Using the HatPack, which is compiled into a neat, wearable package, we have conducted preliminary psychophysics testing, which has shown the significance of available greyscale intensity levels and frame rates. A learning effect associated with repeated trials was also made evident.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bak, M., Girvin, J.P., Hambrecht, F.T., Kufts, C.V., Loeb, G.E., Schmidt, E.M.: Visual Sensations Produced by Intracortical Microstimulation of the Human Occipital Cortex. Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing 28, 257–259 (1990)
Balasubramanian, M., Polimeni, J.R., Schwartz, E.L.: The V1–V2–V3 complex: quasiconformal dipole maps in primate striate and extra-striate cortex. Neural Networks 15, 1157–1163 (2002)
Bear, M.F., Connors, B.W., Paradiso, M.A.: Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore (2007)
Brindley, G.S., Lewin, W.S.: The Visual Sensations Produced by Electrical Stimulation of the Visual Cortex. J. Physiology 196, 479–493 (1968)
Canny, J.: A Computational Approach to Edge Detection. IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 8, 679–698 (1986)
Chen, S.C., Hallum, L.E., Lovell, N.H., Suaning, G.J.: Visual Acuity Measurement of Prosthetic Vision: A Virtual-Reality Stimulation Study. J. Neural Engineering 2, S135–S145 (2005)
Chen, S.C., Suaning, G.J., Morley, J.W., Lovell, N.H.: Simulating Prosthetic Vision: I. Visual Models of Phosphenes. Vision Research 49, 1493–1506 (2009)
Dobelle, W.H., Mladejovsky, M.G.: Phosphenes produced by Electrical Stimulation of Human Occipital Cortex, and their Application to the Development of a Prosthesis for the Blind. J. Physiology 243, 553–576 (1974)
Dobelle, W.H., Mladejovsky, M.G., Evans, J.R., Roberts, T.S., Girvin, J.P.: ‘Braille’ Reading by a Blind Volunteer by Visual Cortex Stimulation. Nature 259, 111–112 (1976)
Dowling, J.A., Maeder, A.J., Boles, W.: Mobility Enhancement and Assessment for a Visual Prosthesis. In: Proceedings of SPIE Medical Imaging 2004: Physiology, Function and Structure from Medical Images, vol. 5369, pp. 780–791 (2004)
Duncan, R.O., Boynton, G.M.: Cortical Magnification within Human Primary Visual Cortex Correlates with Acuity Thresholds. Neuron. 38, 659–671 (2003)
Fehervari, T., Matsuoka, M., Okuno, H., Yagi, T.: Real-Time Simulation of Phosphene Images Evoked by Electrical Stimulation of the Visual Cortex. In: Wong, K.W., Mendis, B.S.U., Bouzerdoum, A. (eds.) ICONIP 2010, Part I. LNCS, vol. 6443, pp. 171–178. Springer, Heidelberg (2010)
Horton, J.C., Hoyt, W.F.: The Representation of the Visual Field in Human Striate Cortex: A Revision of the Classic Holmes Map. Archives of Opthalmology 109, 816–824 (1991)
Humayun, M.S., De Juan, E., Dagnelie, G., Greenberg, R.J., Propst, R.H., Phillips, D.H.: Visual Perception Elicited by Electrical Stimulation of the Retina in Blind Humans. Archives of Opthalmology 114, 40–46 (1996)
Lee, J.S.J., Haralick, R.M., Shapiro, L.G.: Morphologic Edge Detection. J. Robotics and Automation 3, 142–156 (1987)
Monash Vision Group, http://www.monash.edu.au/bioniceye
Polimeni, J.R., Balasubramanian, M., Schwartz, E.L.: Multi-Area Visuotopic Map Complexes in Macaque Striate and Extra-Striate Cortex. Vision Research 46, 3336–3359 (2006)
Schira, M.M., Wade, A.R., Tyler, C.W.: Two-Dimensional Mapping of the Central and Parafoveal Visual Field to Human Visual Cortex. J. Neurophysiology 97, 4284–4295 (2007)
Schira, M.M., Tyler, C.W., Spehar, B., Breakspear, M.: Modeling Magnification and Anisotropy in the Primate Foveal Confluence. PLoS Computational Biology 6, 1–10 (2010)
Schmidt, E.M., Bak, M.J., Hambrecht, F.T., Kufta, C.V., O’Rourke, D.K., Vallabhanath, P.: Feasibility of a Visual Prosthesis for the Blind Based on Intracortical Microstimulation of the Visual Cortex. Brain 119, 507–522 (1996)
Schwartz, E.L.: Spatial Mapping in the Primate Sensory Projection: Analytic Structure and Relevance to Perception. Biological Cybernetics 25, 181–194 (1977)
Srivastava, N.R., Troyk, P.R., Dagnelie, G.: Detection, Eye-Hand Coordination and Virtual Mobility Performance in Simulated Vision for a Cortical Visual Prosthesis Device. J. Neural Engineering 6, 1–14 (2009)
Van Rheede, J.J., Kennard, C., Hicks, S.L.: Simulating Prothetic Vision: Optimizing the Information Content of a Limited Visual Display. J. Vision 10, 1–15 (2010)
Veraart, C., Raftopoulos, C., Mortimer, J.T., Delbeke, J., Pins, D., Michaux, G., Vanlierde, A., Parrini, S., Wanet-Defalque, M.: Visual Sensations Produced by Optic Nerve Stimulation Using an Implanted Self-Sizing Spiral Cuff Electrode. Brain Research 813, 181–186 (1998)
Wandell, B.A., Dumoulin, S.O., Brewer, A.A.: Visual Field Maps in Human Cortex: Review. Neuron. 56, 366–383 (2007)
Zhao, Y., Lu, Y., Tian, Y., Li, L., Ren, Q., Chai, X.: Image Processing Based Recognition of Images with a Limited Number of Pixels Using Simulated Prosthetic Vision. Information Sciences 180, 2915–2924 (2010)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Josh, H., Yong, B., Kleeman, L. (2013). A Real-Time and Portable Bionic Eye Simulator. In: Gabriel, J., et al. Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies. BIOSTEC 2012. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 357. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38256-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38256-7_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38255-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38256-7
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)