Phosphene vision: development of a portable visual prosthesis system for the blind

There exists mounting evidence that the realization of a visual prosthesis for the blind is now a question of ´when´ rather than a question of ´if´. In light of the encouraging results of the handful of research teams working towards chronic implantation of epi-retinal neurostimulators, it is now prudent to consider means to facilitate testing of such a device clinically. The present paper describes the work of the authors towards devising a truly portable visual prosthesis through the use of embedded systems control in conjunction with the authors´ ongoing work in implantable neuroprostheses. The hardware is described and benchmarked from image acquisition to delivery of stimulus, achieving performance greater than 840 stimulation events per second.