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

Canadian cross-country skier Brian Mckeever is the first winter sports athlete to compete in the Olympics and Paralympics. mckeever, who is visually impaired, believes in the power of big dreams.

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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

(One of Joan Huntley’s stunning pieces of work )

A PARTIALLY sighted artist who taught art and design to Rolling Stone Keith Richard, will have a posthumous exhibition of her art on display in Bexley.

The Joan Huntley memorial exhibition, with many of the works for sale, goes on show in the Austen Gallery at Hall Place, Bourne Road, Bexley, from September 21 until October 18.

And it will fulfil the ambition of her husband of nearly 50 years, Ralph Huntley.

He said: “The actual process and joy of creating pictures was Joan’s only interest.

“It has been my ambition to hold this exhibition in her memory and allow the work to be seen and enjoyed by others.”

Born into an artistic Eltham family, Mrs Huntley was a teacher of art and graphic design.

Her sight was impaired from a young age and she was almost blind in one eye and only partial sight in the other.

But her output of painting was prolific and she continued to work at her home in Glendale, Swanley, until months before her death in 2007.

Source for complete article: http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/4591609.BEXLEY___SWANLEY__Rolling_Stone_s_art_teacher_has_memorial_exhibition/

Eight years ago, a nation watched as hundreds of New York’s bravest made the ultimate sacrifice to help those in need.

Since then, a group of students at one Villa Park middle school has helped raise money each year on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for their local fire department, while at the same time learning about the men and women that would come to the rescue in the event of a fire.

Students in the blind and visually impaired program at Albright Middle School in Villa Park spent part of their time in summer school making everything and anything patriotic, including American flag pillows, patriotic bracelets, and red, white and blue fans to sell to students, faculty and staff during two lunch periods today.

The school is part of Salt Creek School District 48, where the visually impaired program consists of more than 50 students. About 15 of the students were in the summer school program, and almost all of them participated in helping make the crafts.

Cindy Rukavina, a teacher in the Albright program, said the students have been doing crafts each summer since 2002, and have made nearly 50 different crafts to sell this year. Rukavina said the crafts not only assist with developing skills, but also help the students learn about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as what firefighters do for the community.

“It’s our way to honor our local firemen who put their lives on the line every day,” Rukavina said. “They would give up their own life to help our own kids, especially the vision-impaired kids who need extra help. … We feel it’s our duty to do something nice for them.”

Later this month, Villa Park firefighters will come to Albright to pick up the money raised by the craft sale. Last year, the sale raised more than $180. Villa Park firefighter/paramedic Matt Sauter said the department uses the money to purchase hats, stickers, and other items to give to children during speeches about fire prevention.

“One of the best fire prevention techniques in the fire service is giving away handouts and educating kids and parents,” Sauter said. “Giving them the opportunity to know that someone will be there and to trust us if we yell to follow us in the event of a fire is important. … It’s good to reassure them we’re going to take care of them if we’re needed.”

Source for complete article: http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/villapark/news/x1170598697/Students-lend-firefighters-helping-hand

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

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.