Hi all,

well yesterday I saw report on BBC which stated that Scientists are now working and have succeded to some extent in developing a technology and a device that can help blind people to see. And whats more useful is that it does so through your TNGUE

Now how is that possible ???

anybody with detailed information on this subject ? I will be happy to know the details.


Thanx

Coolriz

Hello, Coolriz, and welcome aboard.
No one can see from there tongue, I mean it is just impossible. Seeing is using an eye, and transmit the image that your eye capture to your brain.
So scientists would have invented a micro camera, that has some sort of a technique which enables blind people to ''see'' things, through the tongue.
That is my opinion, or logic explanation, but that is not proven, plus I don't have detailed information about this.

I agree with HADI, they might be using some camera. As every body knows to see any object the light must fall on any film which will be acting as a transducer and will send signals in brain or some processor which will process the data to show what you are seeing. But in tongue light can't be changed into any other signals without using any external thing so camera is a must.

It would be interesting if people could actually through their tongue, but as mentioned above, people see by the lens in their eyes. The images they see are transmitted straight to the brain which then sends a message back to another part of your eye so that you can actually see.
This process works the same way as a video camera. The lens actually produces the image.

Other than having a lens or some miniature device acting as a lens on your tongue, I can't see any way it's possible of viewing with a tongue. I suppose technology is always improving, so it's extremely hard to predict what kind of products are going to be released. They seem to be releasing all kinds of things every other day!

Allowing blind people to see is a huge thing, so no doubt this topic will be brought up a lot in the future in scientist magazines and articles in news or blogs if the scientists manage to fully release a device or way which allows people who've never been able to see before, to be able to lead more of a normal life, like being able to watch TV or something simple like seeing where they're walking so they don't need to use their cane to feel.
I'm sure in the very near future, blind people will be able to see with the help of technology.

This post has been edited by sportytalk: Dec 20 2006, 11:25 PM

Hmmmm...im sure I heard something about this a while ago. I think what it is, is some sort of glasses thats got light sensor on it and it connects to the tongue somehow...no idea how. and it transmits the pulses to the brain. Its on the tongue because it has the most nerve endings near the skin surface.

It can't let them see fully, but like blobs or lights / shadows etc.


Need to look into it a bit more though...just trying to re call what i heard before about it!

Interesting indeed.

I dont know how such thing could be possible, it sounds really akward to me. Imagine when you are eating, you would be seeing all the chewed food. What if you accidentally bite your tongue? lol, bet that would be funny. Maybe the tongue is connected to the brain somehow and the managed to connect a camera or something through the tongue. I dont know, its the way I think it could work.

what? i dont think its possible. It would be really funny. Thanks for the news though!

Found the article (from 2001) at sciencenews.org.

The article describes a method by which a blind person can "see" using a matrix of electrodes placed on the tongue. Basically, by hooking a camera up to a computer, then attaching the computer to a grid of electrodes placed on the tongue, the device allows a person to get a sense of how something looks. The human brain is incredible adaptive, so with some practice a blind person can use this technology to gain a primitive sort of vision.

Bear in mind that this article was written back in 2001, and in-brain electrode grids have proven a better, more permanent solution in most cases.

Well, I think it'll feel awkward... not to mention useless. What good does it do to see through your tongue? I'd rather see through my back actually... The tongue is always in your mouth, so you don't see anything but the dark and gloomy view of the inside of your mouth.