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The nerve fibers are close to the surface, there are more of them and there are no outer layers of dead cells that may interfere. It requires less stimulation. Five to fifteen volts is all that is needed in comparison to 40 to 500 volts for areas like the fingertips, abdomen or back. Electrolytes contained in the saliva helps to maintain the current between the electrode and tongue tissue. The area of the cerebral cortex that receives the data from the tongue is larger than areas serving other body parts, making the tongue a logical choice for this process.

Amy Nau is an optometrist at the Univ. of Pittsburgh and is investigating the effectiveness of the instrument. She said during a Washington Post interview, "It's kind of like Braille that you use with your fingers. Instead of symbols, it' a picture and instead of fingertips, it's your tongue." The magic lollypop is called the BrainPort Vision Device. It is made by Wicab, Inc, a biomedical engineering company in Middleton, Wisconsin. It utilizes sensory substitution. This is a function that becomes operative when one sense is damaged. The part of the brain that was meant to control that skill can be taught to perform another function in its place. The visual cortex is asked to learn tactile recognition. The supposition is that we do not see with our eyes. The optical image rests on the retina where a neuro chemical process takes place and it becomes a nerve impulse along the optic nerve fibers. The brain receives the impulses and projects a recreation of the image. And that is an uncomplicated version of how we see.

There are numerous pathways that carry sensory information to the brain. The eyes, ears and skin are all set up in a similar manner to perform their special activities. All this information is carried to the brain by nerve fibers in the form of impulse patterns. Each ends up in different brain areas for interpretation. To substitute one pathway for another - as has been suggested - an accurate encoding of the nerve signals for the sensory activity is required and thence transported to the parietal area of the brain. The brain has the facility to be trained to read inputs for interpretation and to react accordingly. The encoding of the electrical pattern attempts to mimic the input from the non functioning sense. 

Usually, the parietal lobe receives touch information, the temporal lobe receives auditory information, the occipital lobe receives vision information and the cerebellum receives balance information. Experts agree that it is a mystery as to how this all takes place but the brain accomplishes this miracle if the correct information is given to it. Further study is being made to help the hearing impaired, the balance impaired and those who have lost their sense of touch in certain areas of the skin due to nerve damage. A seemingly impossible endeavor is being considered to use electrotactile stimulation for sensory augmentation or substitution to sense colors.

Marine Cpl. Mike Jernigan was blinded by a roadside bomb in Iraq. The doctors gave him no hope of retrieving any part of his lost sight. After five years of sweat and tears, he and his support group of people have brought him beyond the "white cane" scenario. He is one of an experimental group of 100 blind people who are testing the instrument. 

Jernigan reports, "It is designed for stationary tasks. If the camera were to transmit images of a moving scene, there would be too much information to process at once. However, when your sink gets clogged up and you have pieces lying on the floor, my ‘lollipop’ helps me to find the pieces." His camera equipped sunglasses were made by Oakley. Jernigan adds, "For five years I have stared at a blank, black screen. Now, people are thinking outside the box and by doing so, this allows someone like me to have hope of the possibility that I might see again.”

Bob Beckman is the president and CEO of Wicab. He says, "When you were a child, did anyone ever draw a picture on your back with a finger tip?” He continues, “Receiving information by the BrainPort is similar to the perceptions caused by the finger on the back drawing experience." 

Dr. Nau suggests that the image sensations produced are very rudimentary. Stereopsis is unattainable and images are perceived as blocks and shapes in black and white. Beckman feels that his mission is to provide information to the blind, not to cure blindness. "I feel that we are in the infancy of this technology." he said. Mr. Beckman added that he feels the instrument may be commercial by the end of 2009. It is estimated that it will cost about $10,000. The Univ. of Wisconsin has patented the concept and gave Wicab the exclusive rights of licensure.

Veteran Navy Diver, Michael Zinszer used The BrainPort system to sense compass direction and depth while in a swimming pool. He said it felt like having soda pop bubbles on his tongue. Zinszer added, "You are feeling the outline of the image. While I was in the pool they directed me to a very small object and I was able to locate it very easily." 

Erik Weihenmayer lost his vision at the age of thirteen due to a congenital eye disease. He is a 40 year old mountain climber, author and inspirational speaker. He states that he can see size, shape, location and motion of objects in black and white. Black objects on a white background afford better contrast compared with images of low contrast such as people dressed in pastels set against foliage in a park. He adds that the picture, even with high contrast benefits, is much cruder than that of a sighted person's normal vision. To Mr. Weihenmayer's delight he regales in telling how he caught his daughter cheating at cards. In another celebrated case, a woman who has been blind since birth and never developed any idea of what a rubber ball should look like was tested with the BrainPort instrument. The investigating director rolled a ball in her direction she put out her hand to stop it. 

Paul Bach-y-Rita, a neuroscientist at the Univ. of Wisconsin, was the founder of Wicab and reported his discoveries more than thirty years ago. Other researchers who have become deeply involved with developing the progress of the BrainPort device are: Dr. F. Owen Black at the Legacy Clinical research and Technology Center in Portland, Oregon and Dr. Maurice Ptito of the Univ. of Montreal School of Optometry and Dr. Eliana Sampaio of the National Conservatory of Arts and Trades in Paris. It is expected that with the advent of electronic miniaturization and more powerful computer properties, the technology will become less cumbersome and more practical with improved results. 

"Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real."
Jules Verne

Elmer Friedman, O.D.
elmerf@verizon.net