Artificial Vision for the Blind by Connecting a Television Camera to the Visual Cortex
Abstract
Blindness is more feared by the public than any ailment with the exception of cancer and AIDS. We report the development of the first visual prosthesis providing useful "artificial vision" to a blind volunteer by connecting a digital video camera, computer, and associated electronics to the visual cortex of his brain. This device has been the objective of a development effort begun by our group in 1968 and represents realization of the prediction of an artificial vision system made by Benjamin Franklin in his report on the "kite and key" experiment, with which he discovered electricity in 1751.
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Previous experimental studies have found it extremely difficult to generate recognizable shapes through stimulation of multiple electrodes.
“Previous experimental studies have found it extremely difficult to generate recognizable shapes through stimulation of multiple electrodes34,84.”
From A virtual patient simulation modeling the neural and perceptual effects of human visual cortical stimulation, from pulse trains to percepts (2024) · cites this paper as [84]
Dobelle placed electrodes on the visual cortex surface in a greater number of blind people between 1970 and 2000.
“One of these scientists was William Dobelle, who implanted electrodes on the surface of the visual cortex in a larger number of blind individuals between 1970 and 2000 (Dobelle, 2000).”
From Writing to the Mind’s Eye of the Blind (2020) · cites this paper as Dobelle, 2000
Dobelle's devices worked for only a short time, and the patients seemed to gain little overall benefit in daily life.
“However, the useful lifespan of his devices was short, and patients appeared to receive little overall benefit in their daily lives, leading to diminished enthusiasm for cortical prosthetics.”
From Writing to the Mind’s Eye of the Blind (2020) · cites this paper as Dobelle, 2000
Cites
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- Authors
- Dobelle, W. H.
- Corresponding author
- Dobelle, Wm. H.
- Venue
- ASAIO Journal
- Published
- 2000-01
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-9
- ISSN
- 1058-2916 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1982250766
- Cited by
- 584
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 32 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 26
- FWCI
- 5.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ASAIO Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Keywords
- visual prosthesis, artificial vision, blindness, visual cortex stimulation, television cameras, digital video cameras, brain-computer interface, Benjamin Franklin
- MeSH terms
- Blindness, Eye, Artificial, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Television, Visual Cortex, Visual Fields
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