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The Human Visual System: An Engineering Perspective

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Abstract

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the architecture and function of the healthy visual system. Particular emphasis is placed on the diverse capabilities of the visual system that visual prosthesis researchers may want to emulate, to provide the reader with a realistic sense of the daunting challenges facing workers in this field.

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Abbreviations

CCD:

Charge-coupled device

COS:

Cone outer segment

HL:

Henle fiber layer

INL:

Inner nuclear layer

LGN:

Lateral geniculate nucleus

NOT:

Nucleus of the optic tract

ONL:

Outer nuclear layer

RPE:

Retinal pigment epithelium

SC:

Superior colliculus

TN:

Terminal nucleus

V1:

Primary visual cortex, striate cortex

V2:

Secondary visual cortex, peristriate/extrastriate cortex

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Acknowledgment

Supported in part by PHS grant # EY019991. This chapter is an adaptation of parts of an earlier chapter. [19] The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Eyal Margalit, M.D., who co-authored that chapter.

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  1. Lions Vision Research & Rehabilitation Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 550 N. Broadway, 6th floor, Baltimore, MD, 21205-2020, USA

    Gislin Dagnelie

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    Gislin Dagnelie

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Dagnelie, G. (2011). The Human Visual System: An Engineering Perspective. In: Dagnelie, G. (eds) Visual Prosthetics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0754-7_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0754-7_1

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