Biomedical Engineering: Science Aids The Visually Handicapped (1979)

red Foundry proudly brings you this issue of the science green report the nation's leading independent Foundry has been a growing part of the Lynchberg Community since 1896 we manufacture quality engineered castings using 2800° molten iron and automated equipment to shape intricate Parts chemical and physical analysis form the backbone of lynchburg's quality control program Precision castings are used in a variety of industrial and consumer [Music] products experience technology quality and the foundry's greatest asset people have combined to make Lynchberg Foundry the leader in its field and now the science screen report [Music] the science screen report bringing you each month the latest developments in science engineering and Medicine made to help solve the problems of modern life [Music] today there are over 16 million people on Earth who are totally blind and hundreds of millions more with major Vision [Music] handicaps this report details several advances in helping the blind therapies training systems and vision AIDS as well as advanced [Music] technology this experimental reading machine converts printed words into synthetic speech delivered through a loudspeaker or earphones synthetic voice English speech [Music] for those with impaired Vision the lighthouse in New York City has been an important source of new therapies a training center and a model for similar [Music] institutions therapeutic activ AC ity like the construction of a papier-mâché puppet builds up the strength and sensitivity of the [Music] hands suara has only a small amount of vision so little she has never learned to use her visual perceptions the instructor helps to get sumara to pay attention with her eyes to what she is doing with her hands the bright contrasting colors were chosen to catch the girl's visual attention every so often she links the senses of sight and [Music] touch these figures were made by several children modeling each other in order to clarify the shapes and locations of their own facial features making a complete puppet gives practice in several skills including sewing as well as a better understanding of the positions and configurations of body [Music] parts suara can now associate the puppet's features with her own the sense of accomplishment is also emotionally rewarding the low vision vision service develops Vision AIDS and trains Vision experts an examination begins with checks for possible problems while students observe refraction tests measure of standard eyeglasses will give sufficient correction next trial lenses are chosen in order to determine the patient's reading [Music] ability now the trial land is put into a standard frame to enable the patient to actually read though spectacles are about 600 years old until recently any major vision loss often meant helplessness dependence and virtual Exile from everyday Human Society for certain reading material a magnifier may be more effective than ordinary eyeglasses until this Century just a few types of crude spectacles were available a person sorted through the in a store hoping that one kind would help his vision problem today specialized devices like a telescope with a reading lens allow this man a musician to read sheet music at the proper distance a wide variety of low vision AIDS is now available hand magnifiers stand magnifiers telescopes and others as well as special television systems designed for classroom use special procedures are used in diagnosing a form of progressive blindness called retinitis Pigmentosa recently experts developed a new answer to this problem a light amplifier device device that permits full night vision this is what the handicapped person sees new Mobility AIDS are also evaluated at the Lighthouse this laser cane sends out three infrared laser beams in three directions if any beam hits an obstruction a tone sounds to indicate how far away and in what direction it lies even if it is located above face [Music] level used with a long Mobility cane a device called a PA Sounder sounds a beep when an obstacle is a preset distance away most visually handicapped individuals can hold a suitable job once they have found it this new ability evaluation system is being field tested by Lighthouse experts the system was designed to standardize the assessment of the capabilities of handicapped individuals the 6 test program involves a number of timed work tasks that measure various aptitudes this test involves assembly of an electronic connector through such practical applications of Behavioral Science those with visual problems are able to become contributing useful members of society lamp assembly is also part of the skill test series if this system becomes widely accepted it would help a young person make the appropriate vocational [Music] Choice the liouse word processing center employs blind typists a prototype of similar centers in business and government one sighted person coordinates the operation Distributing the correspondence in the form form of tape recordings and routing telephone dictation to typist [Music] transcribers One Vision a employing modern Electronics is this device called the Opticon which enables the blind to read printed [Music] material a small television camera in the Opticon scans printed letters the resulting signals are then converted into vibration patterns of tiny reads which are sensed by a fingertip inside this [Music] mechanism this light display suggests how the patterns of vibrating reads under a user fingertip are sensed as letters of the alphabet in only 9 days a student can learn to recognize Letters by touch then synthesize them into words phrases and [Music] sentences field of valuations have shown that Opticon is of major benefit to blind people in almost any vocation involving printed material [Music] one special Advantage is that two Opticon may be linked allowing a trained sightless person to teach another the use of the machine in a year's time reading speeds May reach more than 30 words a minute because the Opticon converts any print information into identical tactile information it can be used to read any language mathematical symbols graphic drawings or computer output a talking Opticon is current ly under development designed to convert print to artificial speech another approach the reading machine shown here scans printed material placed at top it and converts this into synthetic speech now undergoing field testing portable suitcase sized versions should eventually be available for schools libraries and individual [Music] use the reading machine is one application of the science called artificial intelligence the optical scanner shown here can identify single alphabet characters in all commonly used type [Music] faces optical character recognition is based on the fact that all letters regardless of type style possess certain common geometric properties a mini computer in the base holds both the rules of grammar and the pronunciations of groupings of letters that is words as the scanner identifies each word the mini computer sounds out the [Music] sentence the machine is specially designed to allow the blind user to take an active role in Reading he can go back over a line repeat it as often as needed or go forward rapidly in addition when a user doesn't understand a word the machine spells it out for him keys can even be set to make identifying sounds when [Music] struck separation period separation s b a r a t i o n period with a little practice the mechanical voice is readily understandable what follows is a section of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceives in liberty and dedicated s proposition through new therapies Training Systems Vision AIDS and advanced technology scientists engineers and other experts are helping the visually handicapped towards Fuller more constructive and increasingly independent [Music] lives Lynchberg Foundry has been proud to bring you this issue of the science screen report to further your understanding of science engineering medicine and Technology [Applause] [Music]