Braille News and Research

RSS

Robotic surgery does not compromise clinical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery

Robotic surgical technology with its three-dimensional, high-definition view gives surgeons the sensation of touch, even as they operate from a remote console. A new study describes the phenomenon, called intersensory integration, and reports that surgical outcomes for prostate cancer surgery using minimally invasive robotic technology compare favorably with traditional invasive surgery.

3 Mar 2010

Visually impaired children benefit from earlier introduction to long cane

When "T" started kindergarten, she was an independent, confident child who was fully able to move about in her new environment—even though she was the only visually impaired child in her school and used a long cane. T was born in 2003 with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare inherited eye disease, and has no light perception. She was introduced to the long cane at the early age of 14 months to foster her independence of mobility and functioning.

2 Mar 2010

"Hope – It's In Our Genes" rare disease campaign slogan translated into multiple international languages and Braille

The Global Genes Project (www.globalgenesproject.org), today announced that its rare disease campaign slogan, "Hope – It's In Our Genes™," has been translated into multiple international languages and Braille by rare disease patient advocates and supporters from around the world. The translation of this slogan unifies the rare disease community and global network under one banner.

25 Feb 2010

Braille Institute launches Solutions in Sight to help people find fulfillment in different aspects of life

Although there is controversy over almost every detail of health reform legislation, no one disputes the inescapable fact underlying the deepening the health care crisis: the US population is aging.

22 Jan 2010

Gently rocking embryos during IVF may improve success rates

Gently rocking embryos while they grow during in vitro fertilization (IVF) improves pregnancy rates in mice by 22 percent, new University of Michigan research shows. The procedure could one day lead to significantly higher IVF success rates in humans.

20 Jan 2010

New procedure could lead to higher IVF success rates in humans

19 Jan 2010

Tax hikes in Reid-Obama healthcare bill can affect families with special needs children

There are 18 separate tax hikes in the Reid-Obama healthcare bill. One of them caps the amount that can be deferred in Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) at $2500 per year (a similar provision was included in the Pelosi-Obama health bill and written about by Congressman Cathy McMorris-Rogers, R-Was., for National Review Online).

21 Nov 2009

Health minister calls for ramped up fight against HIV/AIDS in South Africa

South African health minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Tuesday called for a reinvigorated effort in the country's fight against HIV/AIDS, echoing comments recently made by South African President Jacob Zuma, Agence France-Presse reports. Motsoaledi said to reporters, "In 11 years - from 1997 to 2008 - the rate of death has doubled in South Africa" (11/10).

12 Nov 2009

New thin and lightweight notetaker for blind people

HumanWare has launched the BrailleNote Apex, the thinnest and lightest notetaker especially for professionals and students who are blind.

12 Nov 2009

Practical changes in school infrastructure can provide better environments for disabled students

NJIT Research Architect B. Lynn Hutchings believes that by making a few practical, effective and relatively inexpensive changes to school buildings, they can become better environments for students with severe physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities.

21 Oct 2009

Researchers look at processes asbestos fibers use to trigger cancer in human cells

Ohio State University scientists believe they are the first in the world to study the molecular underpinnings of cancer by probing individual bonds between an asbestos fiber and human cells.

18 Dec 2008

Adaptive technology for visually impaired engineers

By adding features to commonly used chemical-engineering software packages, researchers at the University of Arkansas, the University of Akron and Chemstations Inc. have developed adaptive technology that allows blind or visually impaired students and working professionals to perform the essential functions of chemical-engineering process design.

12 Oct 2007

Researchers identify brain circuits used in sensation of touch

The ability to tactually recognize fine spatial details, such as the raised dots used in braille, is especially important to those who are blind.

11 Oct 2007

Namibia launches HIV/AIDS information booklet in Braille

Namibia on Tuesday launched an information booklet on HIV/AIDS in Braille in an effort to reach blind and visually impaired people, Namibia's New Era reports.

5 Sep 2006

New MIT designed device allows visually challenged to access Internet

An MIT poet has developed a small, relatively inexpensive "seeing machine" that can allow people who are blind, or visually challenged like her, to access the Internet, view the face of a friend, "previsit" unfamiliar buildings and more.

1 Jun 2006

E-Text equipment assists visually-impaired students

With numerous book bindings scattered on the floor, the room looked as if there had been a rebellion against literature. But in fact, students were celebrating the new equipment added to Eastern Michigan University’s Center for Adaptive Technology and Education (CATE), that currently serves enrolled students, faculty and staff with a disability.

5 Aug 2004