His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales has shown support for the UK’s blind ex-Service men and women with his attendance at the site of St Dunstan’s new training and rehabilitation Centre in Llandudno, Wales.

The Prince, who is currently serving in the Armed Forces, spent the day meeting some of the ex-Service personnel that the charity supports, trying his hand at a game of blind archery, and sampling a range of equipment and services that will be available at the new St Dunstan’s Centre. 

The Prince joined military VIP guest General Sir Richard Dannatt, as well as local dignitaries such as the Mayor of Llandudno & Consort, Mrs Janet Jones, and the High Sheriff, as he visited the site of the new Centre. The Centre will provide state-of-the art rehabilitation, training and respite support for Service men and women from all over the United Kingdom, but particularly those from Wales.

Source for complete article: http://www.st-dunstans.org.uk/news/prince_william.html

MIAMI (AFP) – A 60-year-old US grandmother, blind for nearly a decade, has recovered her sight after surgeons implanted a tooth in her eye as a base to hold a tiny plastic lens, her doctors said Wednesday.

Sharron “Kay” Thornton, from the southern US state of Mississippi, lost her sight in 2000 when she came down with a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare disease that scarred her cornea, according to the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

For patients whose bodies reject a transplanted or artificial cornea, this procedure “implants the patient’s tooth in the eye to anchor a prosthetic lens and restore vision,” said Thornton’s surgeon Victor Perez.

In the procedure — which was pioneered in Italy but was a first in the United States — the medical team extracted Thornton’s canine or “eyetooth” and surrounding bone, shaved and sculpted it, and drilled a hole into it to insert an optical cylinder lens.

“We take sight for granted, not realizing that it can be lost at any moment,” the grateful patient said. “This truly is a miracle.”

She said people should imagine what it is like “if you could keep your eyes closed just for one week… it’s amazing what you see when you open your eyes again.”

The tooth and the lens were implanted under the patient’s skin in the cheek or shoulder for two months so they could bond, then they were carefully implanted in the center of the eye after a series of procedures to prepare the socket.

“A hole is made in the mucosa for the prosthetic lens, which protrudes slightly from the eye and enables light to re-enter the eye allowing the patient to see once again,” read an Eye Institute statement.

Following a series of operations, medical personnel removed the bandages from Thornton’s eyes two weeks ago.

She was able to recognize objects and faces a few hours later, and two weeks later she was able to read newspapers, the Eye Institute said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my seven youngest grandchildren for the first time,” said Thornton.

Through the work of (the) team, patients in the United States now have access to this complex surgical technique, which has been available only in a limited number of centers in Europe and Asia,” said Eduardo Alfonso, chairman of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

Source for complete article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090917/ts_alt_afp/healthresearchuseye

A surprising number of kids fail their eye exams and that could be a sign of serious problems. Dr. Bruce Rosenthal explains the warning signs and also suggest solutions for your children.

He also promotes Enhanced Vision’s Amigo as a great solution for your children’s low vision and how the device can help in the classroom.

Please click this link to view the clip:  http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=91151@wcbs.dayport.com&cid=4

The Canadian Transportation Agency has released two Implementation Guides to help Canadian air carriers better serve travellers who are blind or have a visual impairment.

The guides were drafted to help carriers meet two provisions in the voluntary Code of Practice: Aircraft Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities. These provisions are designed to ensure that passengers with disabilities who use service dogs, such as those who have visual, hearing or mobility impairments, can travel safely with their animals and can more independently locate their seat in the cabin of an aircraft.

“The Agency has a responsibility to foster an air transportation system to meet the needs of all Canadians,” said Geoff Hare, Chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency. “We feel that these implementation guides will go a long way in helping air carriers meet the needs of passengers who are blind or have a visual impairment and other passengers with disabilities who use service dogs.”

In developing the two new Implementation Guides, the Agency consulted Canadian air carriers, professional service dog training institutions, national organizations of the blind, and the Agency’s Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Carriers have until December 1, 2009 to ensure sufficient space for service dogs, and until March 31, 2010 to implement policies for tactile row markers.

The Guides, and the Code they help to implement, are available on the Agency’s Web site at http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/doc.php?sid=1159&lang=eng.

Source for complete article: http://thegovmonitor.com/civil_society_and_democratic_renewal/canadian-transportation-agency-release-guides-to-airlines-to-better-serve-blind-or-visually-impaired-travellers-3312.html

CHICAGO—An antibiotic widely used in Africa to treat eyesight-robbing infections seems to help prevent Ethiopian children from dying of other diseases. A study in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association suggests an unintended benefit from efforts to wipe out trachoma, the world’s leading preventable cause of blindness.

The World Health Organization has set 2020 as the target for eliminating trachoma. The United States has been free of the disease since the 1970s, but it persists in 48 countries. In Ethiopia, a hotbed, 40 percent of children under 10 show signs of active trachoma.

A grandfather has described how a massive stroke “miraculously” cured his failing sight, but cost him his ability to speak French.

Malcolm Darby, 70, of Oakham, Rutland, had worn glasses since measles damaged his sight at the age of two. But after waking from surgery to remove a blood clot following a stroke last year, he said he found he had near-perfect vision. Experts say the side-effects of the stroke are “unusual”.

The stroke left Mr Darby paralysed and unable to speak. But when a nurse walked past he realised he could read the words on a newspaper under her arm, which he would have been unable to do without one of six pairs of glasses beforehand.

He said: “I realised I could watch television without my glasses. Now I only use one pair of reading glasses if I’m trying to read and it’s dark.”

Mr Darby is now able to talk again and walks four miles a day.

He said: “I’m on the mend now so every cloud has a silver lining, especially with getting my sight back.

“But before the stroke I could speak French and now I just can’t get a word of it out.”

Joanne Murphy, research liaison officer at the Stroke Association, said: “The effects of a stroke will depend on what part of the brain has been injured.

“We often hear about stroke survivors who have double vision or lose half of their field of vision.

“But it is unusual to hear of someone whose vision has got better following a stroke.

“However, we do hear about survivors who have developed new skills after their stroke.”

Source for complete article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/8234784.stm

For people who are blind or visually impaired, orientation in unknown environments is a special challenge. A navigation system, however, can help to support orientation skills. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart are drawing information together for blind and visually impaired students that can be accessed with a precise mobile navigation device.

 This device combines local sensor information with data from environment models. En route to a selected destination, the user can get information acoustically or in Braille. Thereby, the model and sensor data are compared continuously. This information includes navigational options and other suggestions relevant to blind students.

Navigation within the large and complex university buildings can be a time-consuming challenge. To support people with visually impairments, the team built digital hierarchical 2D-environment models of the campus of the University of Stuttgart and of the SZS building of the University of Karlsruhe. These models include augmented information and important landmarks, such as doors and elevator switches, equipped with RFID-Tags.

Using the so-called TANIA system (Tactile-Acoustical Navigation and Information Assistant), also developed within the Visualization and Interactive Systems Group, the blind user can access information about their current position and other mapped objects in the vicinity.

The system can provide navigation options and augmented information, such as names of staff members or contact data. All information can be provided acoustically or in Braille as the individual passes the corresponding real or virtual spaces. In general, any location-based text information can be integrated, such as the office hours of university lecturers, opening hours of the library, the student council offices, or the cafeteria, or other student-specific information that is especially relevant for those new to the university.

Source for complete article: http://www.rehacare.de/cipp/md_rehacare/custom/pub/content,lang,2/oid,22873/ticket,g_u_e_s_t/~/Enhanced_Orientation_for_the_Blind_and_Visually_Impaired.html

Raised domes alert blind people they’ve reached end of sidewalk
Pedestrian walkways in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area are becoming more accessible for people with visual impairments.

Pedestrian walkways in the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area are becoming more accessible for people with visual impairments.

As cities make street improvements, they’re required to meet a new Americans with Disabilities Act requirement, said Tom Trowbridge, Moorhead’s assistant city engineer. The improved sidewalks have what are called truncated domes, or raised circles on the pavement that you can feel with your feet to alert blind people they’ve reached the end of the sidewalk.

The domes also are painted a bright color – either yellow or red – so people with slight visual impairments may be able to see the contrast.

“It’s a warning that you’re leaving a safe walk environment and entering a zone where vehicles also travel,” Trowbridge said.

Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead are adding these improvements while making other repairs, such as the project on Moorhead’s Eighth Street.

“As you do projects, you have to incorporate those changes,” Trowbridge said.

Fargo has been adding the truncated domes in projects for three or four years, said Jeremy Gorden, traffic engineer. Twelfth Avenue North will have the new features when it is completed, he said.

Source for complete article: http://ow.ly/npFN

“Dai, I want to visit your office,” she said over the phone. “Could you please meet me at Kathmandu Mall?”

Leaving my office at Sundhara, I found her on the steps to the mall. “Let’s go,” I said. She recognized my voice and greeted me humbly, “Oh, you’ve arrived!”

She picked up her stick and slung her white handbag over her shoulder. Holding her left arm, I brought her to my office.

I met Chandra Rekha Shrestha, a visually impaired girl, en route to Shanti Nagar several months ago. She was walking down the road with her white stick, and I saw she was about to walk into a muddy pothole. Had she continued, she might have tripped and fallen, or at least muddied her dress.

Not wishing this to be her fate, I stopped my motorbike and called out, “There´s a pothole in front of you, Bahini. If it’s all right with you, I’ll take you to your place.”

She happily accepted. I took her plastic bag so she could climb on my motorbike, and we drove to her destination. Having just met, we spoke briefly about her profession and studies, and I discovered she was on her way to Tinkune for a teacher´s training program.
Chandra had called me a couple of times since our chance encounter. However, I had been unable to meet her due to my busy schedules.

Finally, reuniting at the Kathmandu Mall, she said, “If you hadn’t given me your business card, I wouldn’t have called you.”

We talked about a range of issues, and I came to discover that Chandra possessed a deep and diverse knowledge which would challenge that of many physically fit people.

The visually-impaired are at unavoidable disadvantages when it comes to learning. It is due to the lack of reading materials published in Braille. Unfortunately for Chandra, her love of study has always been hampered by the inaccessibility of study materials. Computer-based listening materials are available for the visually impaired, but this is a luxury for her.

Having come from Dhulikhel, one of Kathmandu’s neighboring towns, Chandra passed her School Leaving Certificate examinations in 1992. Since then, she has completed further studies, including a computer course and self-living training, in India. Sadly, due to lack of time and resources, Chandra was unable to continue her education to Master´s level.

Although she has a mother and three brothers and sisters-in-law in her family, Chandra has been living on her own for the past year. She cooks for herself and washes her own clothes while managing to teach every morning at Anam Nagar’s Rudramati Primary School. As a health and physical teacher, she teaches the schoolchildren exercises which they enjoy a great deal.

Kathmandu is not a friendly city for the visually-impaired or other physically-challenged persons. Thousands of motorbikes and cars compete on the road, yet very few stop to assist those with disabilities reach their destinations. I can only imagine how difficult these people’s lives must be when even able-bodied people find themselves lost in this merciless city.

So how does Chandra cope? Through imagination and memory. While doing her household chores, she tries to remember people, places, and things, and their orientation to her world in order to manage her daily life. She is a courageous and confident person, telling me that she made the decision to live alone after her brothers said they would take turns looking after her each month. Chandra felt this would hurt her self-esteem and would prefer to be independent.

Chandra’s main source of information is through her FM radio, learning about various issues as they are broadcast. Inspired by the power of radio, she took training to be a radio anchor, and thus hopes to be a radio program presenter one day. She would also like to own listening books to increase her knowledge, even though these are rarely available in Kathmandu.

Chandra lost her eyesight as a baby and had to learn how to survive at an early age. Although her entire world is shrouded in darkness, she keeps the light in her home switched on for the sake of others. “I think I shouldn’t keep my home in darkness, so I switch on the light.”

We talked for a long time about her life and aspirations. When she mentioned her desire for further studies, I suggested a college near her home.

Although Chandra is a great lover of dramas and her home is near the Gurukul Theater, she has never had the chance to visit there. She asked if I would take her to the theater one day, and I have promised to do so.

After visiting my office, we went to a restaurant. She loved the momos and coffee, eating each momo gently with a fork and sipping her coffee, explaining, “Noble people drink coffee this way.” I smiled at her sense of humor.

I described the scene around us as we set off on my motorbike to her home. This made her happy, remembering the Bollywood movie “Anuraag”. I have not yet had the chance to see this film, but I will watch it one day.

The next time I saw Chandra, I was accompanied by my photojournalist colleague Chandra Shekhar Karki. I wanted to interview this inspirational woman. She was happy, but said, “I don´t want our relationship to be one of a journalist and a subject to write about, but a sentimental relationship.”

Thank you, Chandra Rekha. You have reminded me of what truly matter in life but are mostly lacking in our city. Sometimes we journalists also forget the sentiments of the very people we write about.

Source for complete article: http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=8903

New technology speaks to drivers with cues for driving, making it possible for the visually impaired to get behind the wheel of a car one day, reports Daniel Sieberg.