Braille Live

MIT Retinal Implant Could Help Restore Some Vision
Article Date: 24 Sep 2009 – 4:00 PDT
Results: MIT engineers have designed a retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration , two of the leading causes of blindness. The retinal prosthesis would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.
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National Federation of the Blind Welcomes the Hope Bus Tour
Hope Bus Tour Will Visit 50 Charities in 50 Days

Baltimore, Maryland (September 28, 2009): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the United States, will welcome the Hope Bus Tour to the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore on September 29. The Hope Bus Tour is visiting fifty pre-selected charities in fifty days, raising public awareness of charities that are doing exceptional work in their communities to improve the lives of people who are in need.

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IRS SCAM Now World’s Biggest E Mail Problem
Criminals are waging a nasty online campaign right now, hoping that their victims’ fears of the tax collecter will lead them to inadvertently install malicious software.
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Cities Installing Audible Crossings Signals To Assist Blind Pedestrians
Cities installing more signals for blind pedestrians Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:06 AM
By Dean Narciso THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Sharon Speck of Worthington keeps a hand on a touch pad that will vibrate when it’s time for her to cross the street. As the ambulance siren cut through the drone of heavy traffic, Sharon Speck gripped her white cane, clutched another she uses for balance and waited to cross a Worthington street.
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Computer Scientists At Freie Universität Berlin Develop New Information System For Blind And Visually Impaired
Article Date: 19 Sep 2009 – 1:00 PDT
The artificial intelligence group at Freie Universität Berlin, under the direction of the computer science professor Raúl Rojas, has developed a new type of information system for blind and visually impaired individuals. Field trials are being carried out to optimize the device for future users. During the next six months it will be tested by 25 persons. The artificial intelligence group at Freie Universität is collaborating with a research group at the Telekom Laboratories headed by Dr. Pablo Vidales and the Berlin Association for the Education of the Blind and Visually Impaired e.V. The joint project is called InformA.
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A Chip For The Eye: Artificial Vision Enhancers Being Put To The Test

Visually impaired or blind patients with degenerative retina conditions would be very happy if they were able to regain mobility, find their way around, be able to lead an independent life and to recognize faces and read again. These wishes were documented by a survey conducted by a research team ten years ago to find out what patients’ expectations of electronic retina prostheses (retina implants) were.
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PenFriend Audio Labeler Instruction Manual

PenFriend Voice Labeling System
ILA Item Number: 756610
Please retain these instructions for future reference.

Contents
1. General description
A. Items supplied with the PenFriend
B. Orientation
C Controls and other features
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A very bad deal for asbestos victims

Anthony Coombs and James Thompson

Summary

Mesothelioma is an invariably fatal cancer usually of the lining of the lung or abdomen. It is nearly always caused by asbestos and in particular by the “amphibole” blue and brown asbestos, which were mined in the Northern Cape and Northern Province of South Africa for many years. This association was first described by Dr Christopher Wagner in a seminal article in 1960, based on his research in the Northern Cape. In Britain there is a long-established tradition of suing employers for asbestos-related diseases.
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Mesothelioma Link to Power Station Death

A Coroner in Bridgewater, Somerset has criticised standards at Hinkley Point Power Station at an Inquest concerning Roger Prideux who died from the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma.

The Coroner said-
“There was a time when there were one or two cases like this a year, but now I have about 15. I think we are coming to the peak in asbestos cases…The dangers of asbestos were known by the end of World War Two and Hinkley has obviously shown a blatant disregard for its employees.”
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PenFriend Audio Labeler
This recently introduced product, from the RNIB, sounds like it could be quite useful. Note it is also available from Independent Living. The cost will run from 125 to 140 dollars depending on where you buy it and the current conversion rate. Here’s some basic information about it. We’re providing URL’s for both sources for your convenience.
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