Capelle C, Trullemans C, Arno P, Veraart C
Neural Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 1998 Oct;45(10):1279-93. doi: 10.1109/10.720206.
The rehabilitation of blindness, using noninvasive methods, requires sensory substitution. A theoretical frame for sensory substitution has been proposed which consists of a model of the deprived sensory system connected to an inverse model of the substitutive sensory system. This paper addresses the feasibility of this conceptual model in the case of auditory substitution, and its implementation as a rough model of the retina connected to an inverse linear model of the cochlea. We have developed an experimental prototype. It aims at allowing optimization of the sensory substitution process. This prototype is based on a personal computer which is connected to a miniature head-fixed video camera and to headphones. A visual scene is captured. Image processing achieves edge detection and graded resolution. Each picture element (pixel) of the processed image is assigned a sinusoidal tone; weighted summation of these sinewaves builds up a complex auditory signal which is transduced by the headphones. On-line selection of various parameters and real-time functioning of the device allow optimization of parameters during psychophysical experimentations. Assessment of this implementation has been initiated, and has so far demonstrated prototype usefulness for pattern recognition. An integrated circuit of this system is to be developed.
使用非侵入性方法恢复视力需要进行感官替代。已提出一种感官替代的理论框架，该框架由一个与替代感官系统的逆模型相连的被剥夺感官系统模型组成。本文探讨了这种概念模型在听觉替代情况下的可行性，以及将其实现为与耳蜗逆线性模型相连的视网膜粗略模型。我们开发了一个实验原型。其目的是优化感官替代过程。该原型基于一台个人计算机，该计算机连接到一个微型头戴式摄像机和耳机。捕捉视觉场景。图像处理实现边缘检测和分级分辨率。处理后的图像的每个像素被分配一个正弦音调；这些正弦波的加权求和构建出一个复杂的听觉信号，该信号由耳机转换。在线选择各种参数以及设备的实时运行允许在心理物理学实验期间优化参数。已开始对该实现进行评估，到目前为止已证明该原型在模式识别方面的有用性。该系统的集成电路有待开发。
