Simulating Phosphene Vision on portable devices

Matias Maturana
University of Melbourne
National Vision Research Institute

Time: 20 May 2014, 18:00 AEDT (Refreshments from 17:30)

Venue: Engineering House, 21 Bedford St, North Melbourne, VIC 3051

Abstract

The development of the bionic eye has the potential to transform the lives of vision impaired people. The bionic eye operates by electrically stimulating the retina, giving the user the perception of spots of light called phosphenes. An understanding of how vision is perceived by users with a bionic eye is necessary for developing methods that improve their visual experience. Simulation is a useful tool for testing and developing successful stimulation strategies, and it is also an important educational tool. We have created a simulation tool that operates on portable devices to help the general public understand the difficulties of low vision and the realistic potential of visual prosthetic devices. The application is a platform that incorporates recent psychophysical and in vitro results. It captures an image using the inbuilt camera on most phones or portable devices and transforms the image into a phosphene simulation on the device screen. Using this tool, the user can gain an understanding of the limitations of bionic vision, and also gain insights of changes that can be made to stimulation strategies that could help improve visual acuity.

Biography

Matias completed a Bachelor of Arts/Science at the University of Melbourne in 2006 and subsequently went on to complete a Masters of Engineering (Electrical) in 2012. During his Masters, Matias worked part-time at Bionic Vision Australia doing computational modelling of the intrinsic properties of retinal ganglion cells. His interest in visual neuroscience led him to begin his PhD in 2013, where he is looking at improving stimulation strategies for the bionic eye implant.