November 5, 2009 
Scientists have designed an electronic device that enables blind people to see through the nerves in the tongue…
The new system consists of a small camera and the unit that converts information into electrical impulses. They use the nerves of the tongue to transmit to the brain, which converts them into pictures.
The device consists of dark glasses that have a camera set on them, a control unit the size of a cell phone and lollipop with a cable. The lollipop has 600 electrodes that are built in and that send impulses in accordance with the amount of light that is found in the visual field of the camera. The white pixels are represented by powerful impulses and the black with absence of signal. The sense of an impulse on the tongue resembles 
the tickling bubbles of champagne.
Blind people who have tried it claim that they have in less than 20 hours of training began to perceive shapes and even read the signs. Scientists say the skill of turning impulses from the tongue to pictures is like riding a bicycle.
It is expected that the device, called the BrainPort, which is constructed by Wicabo company, could appear in stores later this year.
Dr. William Seiple from the Lighthouse Interanational organization, which tests the device, says that some people, after only 15 minutes of BrainPorta usage manage to interpret the information. Four examinees that he works with quickly learned to read numbers and letters and to take items such as cutlery. “One man started to cry when he first saw the letters for the first time,” said Dr. Seiple.
Taken from: www.jutarnji.hr