Thermal and Distance image filtering improve independent mobility in Argus II retinal implant

Abstract

Purpose: To simplify the imagery presented to Argus II retinal implant wearers by filtering out information from background objects using head-mounted a thermal camera (T) and a stereoscopic distance filter camera (D). The functionality of these two systems was compared with normal Argus II camera (N) imagery in mobility and obstacle avoidance tasks. Method: The data were acquired from Argus II users in a mobility test with T/N and obstacle avoidance test with D/N. In both experiments, the accuracy and response time were recorded and were used to calculate the cumulative probability of success over time. Performance using the T/D versus N cameras was compared using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test. Results: Four Argus II users aged 62–87 completed the mobility task and three of them performed the obstacle avoidance task. Despite interindividual differences, KS testing of the cumulative probability of ...