In what could soon revolutionise the treatment for the blind, scientists have designed a device which has enabled a visually handicapped soldier to 'see' with his tongue.
The pioneering device 'BrainPort' is actually a tiny video camera attached to a pair of sunglasses which are linked to a plastic 'lolly pop' that the user places on their tongue to read the electrical pulses.
According to the US scientists, the groundbreaking technology works by converting visual images captured by the camera, into a series of electrical pulses which are sent to the tongue.
The different strength of the tingles can be read or interpreted so the user can mentally visualise their surroundings and navigate around objects, British newspaper 'The Times' reported.
Twenty-four year old Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg from Walton, Liverpool, who was blinded by a grenade in Iraq, can now read words, identify shapes and even walk unaided after he got the BrainPort device, which gives him "lingual vision".
US Major-General Gale Pollock, who worked on the scheme, said the BrainPort has 400 points sending information to the tongue connection. "I think this provides huge hope, as there has really been no clear advance for the visually impaired since we invented white canes and guide dogs.
"It's just so exciting to finally be able to say to people: here is a tool that may help you and start to restore hope to the visually impaired community. It's just wonderful," she said.
A happy Lundberg said: "It feels like licking a nine volt battery or like popping candy. The camera sends signals down onto the lolly pop and onto your tongue. You can then determine what they mean and transfer it to shapes.
"You get lines and shapes of things. It sees in black and white so you get a two-dimensional image on your tongue. It's a bit like a pins and needles sensation."
And, now the designers plan to expand this to 4,000 points, which would vastly upgrade the clarity of the image.
Users cannot speak or eat while using the BrainPort so they are hoping to create a smaller device that could be permanently fixed behind the teeth or to the roof of the mouth, enabling more natural use.
