Braillers for Everyone!
Let’s help all the kids who participated in the Backpacking SMART Brailler event raise the money they need to get a brailler! SMART Braillers for everyone!
News
Wheelchair or Robotic Exoskeleton?
A Japanese company is working on a robotic exoskeleton that could, in theory, replace wheelchairs and allow for much more natural movement.
Have You Ever Wanted to Touch a Tiger?
The Oregon Zoo has an amazing program that allows blind students to visit the veterinary clinic and interact with large (and often dangerous) animals while anesthetized.
Surf Camp for Blind Kids
Indo Jax Surf School’s Visually Impaired Summer Camp takes place at Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina for a week each July.The camp gets bigger every year and includes sighted siblings as well.
Building Retinas in the Laboratory
Researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London say they have had success in mouse models actually building retinas in the laboratory using stem cells to create new photoreceptors. When these new photoreceptors were injected into the eyes of blind mice, they were able to hook up with the existing architecture of the eye and begin to function.
Next Step in Gene Therapy
Researchers at Berkeley Stem Cell Center at UC Berkeley have been working on creating a new way to get gene therapy to a patient’s eye without invasive surgery.
Retinal Microchip Advances
There’s been a lot of movement in the world of retinal microchips lately! Find out about the Argus II, wireless glasses and solar powered microchips!
Preventing the Development of Deafness in Mice with Usher Syndrome
Researchers at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science have found a way to use a single dose of a small, synthetic RNA-like molecule, called an antisense oligonucleotide (ASO), to prevent the onset of deafness in mice that have been engineered to have Usher Syndrome.
iPad Curriculum for Children with Visual Impairments
Junior Blind of America’s Infant & Early Childhood Program has been using iPads as part of its curriculum in order to study how children with CVI or low vision respond to iPad apps. The results are in and they are very encouraging!
FDA Approves Artificial Retina
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is the first artificial retina (also called a bionic eye or retinal microchip) to be approved by the FDA in the United States.
Accessible Braille Smart Phones
Smart phones and tablets have many accessibility features but are still basically smooth surfaces. Two new technologies try to change this by making tablets with tactile output or phones with audio feedback.
Make baseball accessible with Beep Baseball!
Watch a video about beep baseball and the Boston team, the Renegades. The video explains how beep baseball works and follows a couple blind players through their day.
WonderBaby.org Earns Parents’ Choice Foundation Seal of Approval
WonderBaby.org has been chosen by the Parents’ Choice Foundation for an Approved seal in their Website category. The Foundation awards the Approved seal to websites that help children enjoy developing physical, emotional, social or academic skills.
Visual Fields, Field Loss and Functional Vision Testing
The newest webcast from Perkins features Luisa Mayer, Ph.D., an internationally known specialist in visual field/functional vision testing.
Children’s Hospital Uses iPads to Enhance Patient’s Experience
Boston Children’s Hospital is running a pilot program with inpatient care using a new app they’ve developed to help organize and facilitate communication between a patient’s family and their doctors.