Blindness
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Sight is a wonderful thing many people take for
granted. There are many things that may diminish a person’s vision and
perhaps render them blind. Blindness is a disability in which a person has
partially to fully lost their sight
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Braille
is one way blind people can read.
Optacons can scan, then read printed material
aloud.
Scientists
are working on a synthetic chip to “cure” blindness. |
There are different levels of blindness. A
totally blind person can’t distinguish dark from light and vice versa.
Partially blind people have some sight that may be useful for various
occasions. A congenitally blind person is one who was born without sight. Those
with acquired blindness lost their eyesight to either diseases or injuries.
Blindness can also be categorized according to
how it affects a person’s life. Those who are economically blind aren’t able
enough for jobs requiring vision. Vocationally blind are those who are unable
to see well enough to continue their current job. Educationally blind people
are those whose loss of vision hinders them from learning without special
methods or objects.
There are also a few different types of
blindness. People with night blindness can’t see well in poor light; although,
their sight may be perfectly fine in good light. This is usually caused by
having too little vitamin A in one’s diet. Snow blindness is a nonpermanent
loss of sight due to the reflection of bright sunlight off of snow. Perhaps the
more commonly known kind is color blindness, an inherited disability. A person
with this is unable to differentiate between colors.
However, to be considered legally blind in the
The two main causes for blindness are diseases
and injuries. Diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma cause 95% of all
blindness, while injuries only cause the last five percent. Most blindness can
be cured with surgery and/or laser treatment (in the early stages). Any
injuries inflicting the eye(s), nerves related to the brain or eyes, or the
brain’s vision center may bring about blindness.
There are many aids for blind people to
attempt to live a normal life as much as possible. Braille and book readings on
tape enable a blind person to interact with books. Optacon
and optical scanners are another method of reading for the blind. Optacon is a device that enlarges the image of each letter
for the user to feel. Optical scanners are computers with a voice simulator
that reads printed type out loud. Movies and other video programs have headsets
that describe the onscreen action that goes with the dialogue being spoken.
To get around from location to location, those
who are blind may choose to use a cane. Canes for blind people are painted
white and are longer than the normal ones. Trained guide dogs can assist in
traveling as well.
Some of the more advanced technologies
available to the blind are sonar glasses and light-sensitive transmitters. The are a type of special glasses with sonar devices built
into them. It sends out sonar waves that bounce back after hitting something.
Light-sensitive transmitters can be put into a blind person’s retina. When
light hits the transmitter, it uses nerve channels to send signals to the
brain.
Researchers are attempting to create a
synthetic retina using a microelectromechanical chip.
The small chip will obtain signals from a petite camera inside a glass eye
structure. The chip will replicate the light and dark design in the camera and
group electrodes accordingly on its surface. These pulses will rouse the optic
nerve. The person should be able to see, even though the images will be yellow
and appear slowly. Possible problems with the chip are its energy source and
how to connect the chip to the optic nerve.
Robotics could be used to help blind people in
many ways. A robot with a good light sensor could tell people with color
blindness what color is what. A robotic guide would be good. It would be like
the trained guide dogs, but without extreme needs and would be more “faithful.”
A robot for a guide could be better than the dog or cane in a lot of ways. For
one, the robot could sense where things are and tell the user what’s going on
(with a voice simulator).
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Bibliography:
blindness on
Encyclopedia.com. 2002. Alacritude,
LLC.
David E. Eifrig, " Blindness " World Book Online Reference Centre,
http://www.worldbookonline.com/ar?/na/ar/co/ar064580.htm,
"Synthetic
Humans." Ed. Joe
Feb. 2003: 62.