Optacon

Abstract: The modified Optacon, a simple battery-powered device that measures fingertip vibration sensation, was used by para-professionals to screen 257 acrylamide-exposed individuals. Consistent data were obtained on repeated testing of individuals, and there was an age-related linear decrease in vibration sensitivity within the population. Subclinical peripheral neuropathy was detected in two individuals, one acrylamide-related and the other nutritional-alcoholic. This study establishes the use of the modified Optacon as a screening device for some types of peripheral nerve dysfunction.

Abstract: We have developed a computer-controlled tactile vision-substitution system as part of a study to maximize the use of the skin's ability to process spatial and temporal information. The system receives a 128-column × 64-row image from a commercially available digital camera. An IBM personal computer sections the image into a controllable number of 6 × 24 blocks. The computer then sequentially sends these blocks to the 6 × 24 vibratory fingertip stimulation matrix on an Optacon reading device for the blind. Custom hardware provides the interface between the IBM PC and the Optacon. The image manipulation software is written in Intel 8088 assembly code.

Abstract: Electrocutaneous stimulation has been investigated for use in the Optacon, a new reading aid for the blind. Results indicate that electrocutaneous stimulation is not practical as a replacement for tactile stimulation, which is presently being used.

Abstract: The development of various sensory substitution devices and aids for the blind has been based on the notion that the human perceptual systems are remarkably flexible in their functional capacities and that such devices, to be practically useful, need make use of the functional similarities of other perceptual systems to provide the effective information. Since their inception, optical-to-tactile conversion systems have capitalized on the qualitatively similar functional characteristics of the skin and the retina. The Optacon (Telesensory Systems, Inc.), a device which permits the blind to read printed material, is an example of a system which can be thought of as allowing a dynamic form of ‘tactile vision’ for two-dimensional displays (lines of print). The Tactile Vision Substitution System (TVSS) is an even more appealing example since it was designed to transduce more complex optical images into tactile stimulation and to be capable of providing a far greater variety of environmental information.