Devices for Assisting Visually Impaired Patients – IP 1409

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading causeof visual disability and blindness in persons 65 years of age and older in theUnited States and other developed countries. It affects 11% percent of thepopulation of 65-74 years old and 28% of the population over 74 years old.Glaucoma is also a leading cause of visual disability and blindness, with areported 2.2 million cases of open-angle glaucoma patients. Owing to the rapidaging of the US population, cases of both AMD and glaucoma will continue toincrease. Florida International University (FIU) researchers develop devicesfor improving the quality of life for individuals that suffer from the commonvisual impairments associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) andglaucoma. This technology aims to capitalize on the remaining functional areasof the retina found in AMD and glaucoma patients allowing them to visualizecomplete images of the world similarly to how a normal eye would perceive them.To successfully achieve this, images are captured by a camera, distorted orreorganized by an algorithm (retaining key visual information), and thenprojected onto the aforementioned remaining functional areas of the retina. One concept for the device is a goggle consisting of opticalcomponents, which are capable of redistributing the light transmitting throughthe goggle onto the peripheral retina in the case of AMD and the central retinain the case of glaucoma. Another concept for the device consists of anindividual camera for each eye, which records real-time images at the sameheight and same field of view or a normal eye. These images are then processedand projected onto small screens on the retina. Image distribution on both concepts can be customizedaccording to the distribution of the remaining photoreceptors of each eye. As aresult, each goggle needs to be customized for different patients. Additionally,in order to provide stereovision, the two visual glasses need to be aligned inthe way a normal person utilizes their two eyes to see. Shantanu Balkundi sbalkund@fiu.edu 305-348-8061