Benefits of thermal and distance-filtered imaging for wayfinding with prosthetic vision

Abstract

Visual prostheses such as the Argus II provide partial vision for individuals with limited or no light perception. However, their effectiveness in daily life situations is limited by scene complexity and variability. We investigated whether additional image processing techniques could improve mobility performance in everyday indoor environments. A mobile system connected to the Argus II provided thermal or distance-filtered video stimulation. Four participants used the thermal camera to locate a person and the distance filter to navigate a hallway with obstacles. The thermal camera allowed for finding a target person in 99% of trials, while unfiltered video led to confusion with other objects and a success rate of only 55% (). Similarly, the distance filter enabled participants to detect and avoid 88% of obstacles by removing background clutter, whereas unfiltered video resulted in a detection rate of only 10% ( …