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.

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/

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

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.

Louise Brown, 91, has read up to a dozen books a week since 1946 without incurring a single fine for late returns.

She borrows mainly large print books because she is partially sighted, and has almost worked her way through her local library’s entire stock.
Library staff in Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, say the pensioner’s rapacious reading habits over 60 years could earn her a place in the record books.

Mrs Brown, a widow, said: “My parents were great readers and I’ve always loved books. I started reading when I was five and have never stopped. I like anything I can get my hands on.”

She said her favourite genres are family sagas, historical novels and war stories, but added: “I also like Mills and Boon for light reading at night.”

She said she had read too many books to have a favourite or top five, but if she had to choose a preferred genre it would be family sagas or historical novels.

Louise Pride, her daughter, said: “She has aids to help her sight and usually borrows large print books. But the trouble is she has read nearly all of them in the local library. She still finds time to ready a newspaper every day and to watch TV.”

Welsh-born Mrs Brown joined a library in Castle Douglas, near Stranraer, in 1946 when she moved there after getting married.

Seven years ago she moved to Stranraer to live with her daughter and has been regularly borrowing books from the library ever since.

Over the past six decades she has borrowed at least six books every week throughout each year and has recently increased that to about 12 every seven days.

Janice Goldie, of Dumfries and Galloway Libraries, said: “We are amazed at Mrs Brown’s achievements. When she first joined the library service she was allowed to borrow six books a week. This has now risen to 12 and she always takes her full quota.

“Although she has borrowed nearly 25,000 books, she has never once had to pay an overdue charge.The staff at Stranraer Library think she’s a remarkable lady and look forward to her weekly visits. They would like to know if anyone can beat her reading record.”

Source for complete article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5932159/Britains-most-avid-reader-91-has-borrowed-25000-library-books.html