In Prof. Amir
Amedi’s world-renowned Lab for Brain and Multisensory Research at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem, people with vision impairment can “see” their environment with
the aid of sensory substitution devices (SSDs) that provide visual information
from sound and touch.
Now, two of the
lab’s groundbreaking inventions are being readied for the mass market in Brainnovations, Israel Brain Technologies’ four-month accelerator program.
EyeCane, a
flashlight-like orientation device, emits infrared rays to translate distance
into auditory and tactile cues enabling the user to sense objects within an
adjustable range of up to five meters. After brief training, EyeCane users can
estimate distances, avoid obstacles and successfully navigate in simple
environments.
nd
individuals can be trained to recognize the letters of the alphabet, “see”
pictures of animals, and even find an object or person in a complex visual
landscape. A version of the app is available free on the Apple App Store and
Google Play.
Challenging conventional
notions
.
“Th
ey demonstrate that people have the ability
to take information from one sense and present it in another, thus enabling
blind people to ‘see’ by using other senses such as touching or hearing,” he
said.
With the encouragement of Yissum, RenewSenses
entered Brainnovations in May to build a business model and get the products to
people who are waiting for them, Rosenbaum says. The initial version of EyeCane
could be available within three or four months of raising production funds.
“The
Brainnovations accelerator helps us understand the medical ecosystem, including
reimbursement and regulation, and governmental programs like the Innovation
Authority [of the Ministry of Economy and Industry],” she says. “It also gives
us access to mentors and impact investors, philanthropies, angel investors and
VCs as we finalize our business plan.”
Rosenbaum says that EyeCane and EyeMusic are
based on different scientific insights than are potentially similar
technologies under development elsewhere. Using infrared rather than ultrasonic
rays gives EyeCane has superior accuracy, and it is expected to be more
affordable than competitive devices. EyeMusic is the only system of its kind
that can effectively convey color and brightness information.
“We plan to combine the two products and when
we do, we will have no competitors,” she says.
“We’ll have a mobility aid with the option of
understanding color, and other features like a compass and eventually image
processing or object recognition. If a person detects an object he can zoom in,
take a picture and EyeMusic will show him what it is. Instead of just being
told there’s a chair, it’s like opening your eyes and seeing it.”
RenewSenses currently has a fulltime R&D
manager and Rosenbaum hopes to add a production manager and sales/marketing
manager when it gets funded.
All of the current eight Brainnovations
startups will present at a pitch day on September 18 at Google Tel Aviv, where
the accelerator is housed.
The other seven are BioEye (developing a
diagnostic device for cognitive decline using the front camera of mobile
phones), Pauzzitive Life (developing a mobile application for treating
lifestyle addictions), TailorMed (using machine learning to improve quality and
speed of medical image diagnostics), InnoSphere (developing a brain-stimulating
device to treat ADHD), MyDopa (using machine learning to adjust the medication
dosage of Parkinson patients), Sentidio (developing software to improve the
social skills of autistic children) and Re:Mind (developing an at-home
diagnostic helmet to detect an early-stage stroke)
.
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http://www.israel21c.org/the-gadgets-that-enable-blind-people-to-see/