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Popular topic: Technology
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Artificial corneas restore vision
August 28th, 2010
Posted by James Lahey
Researchers have restored the sight of patients by using biosynthetic cornea implants.
Created using human collagen, the grafts improved the vision of six out of ten individuals over a two-year period.
The patients' eyes adapted to the artificial corneas, regenerating nerves and even becoming capable of producing tears.
None of the individuals who took part in the research in Sweden suffered an immune system reaction, while all of them entered the scheme with severe corneal scarring.
Dr May Griffith of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) said the research is imporant because it is the first time artificial corneas have been able to stimulate regeneration of the eye.
“With further research, this approach could help restore sight to millions of people who are waiting for a donated human cornea for transplantation,” Dr Griffith added.
The cornea allows light into the eye and also helps the lens focus correctly.
Some 1,500 scientists and clinical investigators work at the OHRI, which is affiliated with the University of Ottawa.
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Disabled engineer designs devices for disabled children
August 25th, 2010
Posted by James Lahey
A computer engineer from Canada has developed a number of new technologies to assist children with disabilities.
Eric Wan has been paralysed from the shoulders down since the age of 18, when he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis.
But, as Winnipeg Free Press reports, the computer engineer has focused his attention on using technology to assist other disabled people, particularly children.
Mr Wan has created the Virtual Music Instrument, which allows disabled people to compose music through specialised software by movements of the head.
The device was developed at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and was born out of his own love of music.
“It was really interesting applying my skills in making software or electronic gadgets that enabled people to be able to do more and improve their quality of life,” Mr Wan told the news source.
Other projects developed by Mr Wan include iPod localisation, which allows individuals who require the use of a ventilator to walk around freely, and a device that detects swallowing safety.
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada's largest children's rehabilitation teaching hospital and is operated by the University of Toronto.
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First sign language mobile phone in testing
August 17th, 2010
Posted by Imogen Welsh
Engineers in the US are in the process of developing the first mobile phone capable of relaying American Sign Language (ASL).
The device is the brainchild of researchers at the University of Washington and is currently undergoing initial field testing.
Dubbed MobileASL, the phone features enhanced image quality around the face and hands to improve signing visibility, while its movement sensor preserves battery life when a user is not signing.
Set to end tomorrow (August 18th), the first test has seen users make a total of 200 calls with an average duration of a minute and a half.
University undergraduate Josiah Cheslik said the technology will replace text messaging for long communications.
“Sometimes with texting, people will be confused about what it really means. With the MobileASL phone people can see each other eye-to-eye, face-to-face and really have better understanding,” he said.
The research is being funded primarily by the US National Science Foundation, which has backed more than 180 Nobel Prize winners since its inception in 1950.
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Sniffing device helps disabled communicate
July 27th, 2010
Posted by Ben Jones
New technology could enable severely disabled people across the world to communicate through sniffing, it has been revealed.
According to a team of Israeli researchers, the device has enabled more than a dozen quadriplegic people to write and guide a wheelchair using only their nose.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report outlines how the technology senses pressure built up and released in the nose to control an assistive computer system.
The team revealed the device is controlled “with speed similar to that of a hand using a mouse or joystick”, enabling paralysed people to write text and move around through a series of sniffing and exhaling commands.
Researchers concluded that the new technology “may provide a host of viable solutions for the growing population of individuals who are severely disabled”.
The device has so far been tested on 15 disabled people and 96 non-disabled people.
It could be used to support the ten million disabled people in Britain.
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Researchers developing simple prenatal chromosomal blood test
July 4th, 2010
Posted by Imogen Welsh
Researchers in the Netherlands could be close to developing a simple, non-invasive prenatal blood test to detect chromosomal defects.
The current amniocentesis test is offered to high-risk women during pregnancy but carries a small risk of miscarriage.
Speaking at a European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting in Rome on Tuesday (June 29th), clinical geneticist Dr Suzanna Frints revealed that genetic probes can be used to check the DNA of a foetus.
While the research is in its early stages, experts believe assessment could take the form of a simple blood test in the future.
The advances could help doctors diagnose Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, haemophilia, Down’s syndrome, Edward’s syndrome and Patau syndrome earlier and more easily.
Dr Frints of Maastricht University Medical Centre told the meeting: “It is inexpensive compared to the costs of invasive prenatal diagnosis and could easily be implemented at low cost.
“Blood samples can be taken during routine antenatal visits.”
Down’s syndrome is caused by abnormalities that affect the twenty-first chromosome, according to NHS Choices.
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New dictaphone aimed at blind and dyslexic users
July 4th, 2010
Posted by Charlie Powell-Brett
A new dictaphone aimed at visually impaired and dyslexic users is set to go on sale soon.
Developed by Olympus in conjunction with the RNIB and the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), the DM5 can store over 2,000 hours of audio recording and also doubles up as a personal music player, BBC News reports.
The device features voice-activated commands and can also read text files aloud for the benefit of blind users.
On top of this, the DM5 supports the Digital Accessible Information System format, which is used by the RNIB to encode audiobooks and is also popular among dyslexic users.
Olympus product specialist Georgina Knight told the news source: “It’s intuitively designed so all of the buttons are very tactile and should be very straightforward.
“You scroll down to the different options and you have voice guidance telling you what area of the device you’re in.”
The DM5 also includes Olympus’ Sonority audio editing software for both Mac and PC computers.
In related news, the RNIB is set to launch a new online shop next month, giving blind and visually impaired users access to support products and reading material.
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Stem cell researchers restore sight
June 27th, 2010
Posted by Charlie Powell-Brett
Researchers have restored the sight of patients left blind or visually impaired by chemical burns using stem cell technology.
It has been reported that a study carried out in Italy between 1998 and 2007 could help people whose corneas have been irreparably damaged by heavy-duty cleansers and other harmful substances.
Scientists extracted stem cells from the healthy eyes of patients and used them to grow a regenerating cornea on the damaged eyes.
The treatment was proven to be successful in over three-quarters of cases.
Graziella Pellegrini from the University of Modena’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine, commented that the patients involved in the research were “incredibly happy”.
“We have a couple of patients who were blind in both eyes. Can you imagine for these patients the change in their quality of life?”
She added that the stem cell technique has now been carried out on over 250 patients since it was first pioneered in 1995.
The method could help some of the two million blind and visually impaired people living in the UK.
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Personal music players ‘can cause permanent hearing damage’
June 23rd, 2010
Posted by Ben Jones
Personal music players can cause permanent damage to hearing over time, it has been warned.
According to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), music played in earphones at 85 decibels or over can pose long-term risk to music lovers.
The charity was responding to a report from the Journal of the American Medical Association, which indicates that temporary declines in hearing sensitivity are also linked to the use of MP3 players, since they can damage both inner and outer ear cells.
Emma Harrison, RNID director of public engagement, said that 66 per cent of personal music player users listen to their device at louder than 85 decibels.
“The RNID will continue to work with the EU to raise awareness of this problem as they develop their regulations for personal music players,” Ms Harrison said.
According to the charity, EU regulations will set a default volume of 85 decibels on all personal music players, a setting that can be overridden by the user.
The organisation recommends taking a five-minute break for every hour of listening to music in earphones.
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Israeli invents braille crossword
June 19th, 2010
Posted by Ben Jones
An Israeli author has invented a type of crossword puzzle aimed at blind and partially sighted people.
Avi Rubinstein invented the puzzle after proposing the idea to Uri Cohen, director of the Central Library for the Blind, Y New News reports.
Following comprehensive research, the inventor developed a special crossword format that is written in Braille, allowing blind people to solve it independently.
Mr Rubinstein has received a number of letters from blind crossword enthusiasts thanking him for his invention.
One such supporter, Yisrael Sofer, 26, told the website: “If I wanted to solve a crossword puzzle in the past, I had to have someone read it to me.
“Now that it’s in Braille it is so much more enjoyable.”
The inventor has also worked on developing crosswords for people with learning disabilities and is poised to publish a new set of educational puzzles based on the Israeli Ministry of Education’s textbooks.
The new crossword format could also appeal to the two million people in the UK with sight loss.
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Capability school shortlisted for TEC award
June 9th, 2010
Posted by Imogen Welsh
Capability Scotland’s Corseford School has been shortlisted for a Times Educational Supplement (TES) award.
According to the charity, the school has been nominated in the Outstanding ICT Learning Initiative of the Year category for its How Was School Today? initiative.
The scheme uses sensors to track the movements of disabled pupils around the school, logging their activities so they can assemble a story to tell to parents or carers when they return home.
Pupils are encouraged to develop their language and communication skills through the initiative since they are sharing information about their day in a “more natural, interactive way”, Capability notes.
Capability head teacher Sue Williams said the organisation is “thrilled” to have been nominated for a TES award.
“Giving pupils their own voice to tell their own daily diary helps develop their skills to enable them to become effective contributors and successful learners,” Ms Williams added.
Corseford is competing against five other schools, including Tideway School in Newhaven and Greensward Academy in Essex.
The awards will be announced on June 17th.
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