• Title/Summary/Keyword: Blind Control

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Personalized Speech Classification Scheme for the Smart Speaker Accessibility Improvement of the Speech-Impaired people (언어장애인의 스마트스피커 접근성 향상을 위한 개인화된 음성 분류 기법)

  • SeungKwon Lee;U-Jin Choe;Gwangil Jeon
    • Smart Media Journal
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    • v.11 no.11
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    • pp.17-24
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    • 2022
  • With the spread of smart speakers based on voice recognition technology and deep learning technology, not only non-disabled people, but also the blind or physically handicapped can easily control home appliances such as lights and TVs through voice by linking home network services. This has greatly improved the quality of life. However, in the case of speech-impaired people, it is impossible to use the useful services of the smart speaker because they have inaccurate pronunciation due to articulation or speech disorders. In this paper, we propose a personalized voice classification technique for the speech-impaired to use for some of the functions provided by the smart speaker. The goal of this paper is to increase the recognition rate and accuracy of sentences spoken by speech-impaired people even with a small amount of data and a short learning time so that the service provided by the smart speaker can be actually used. In this paper, data augmentation and one cycle learning rate optimization technique were applied while fine-tuning ResNet18 model. Through an experiment, after recording 10 times for each 30 smart speaker commands, and learning within 3 minutes, the speech classification recognition rate was about 95.2%.

A Study on the Development of Urban Roads Convoy Driving Service and Effect Analysis (도시부 도로 호송주행(Convoy Driving) 서비스 개발 및 효과분석)

  • Son, Seung-neo;Lee, Ji-yeon;Cho, Yong-sung;Park, Ji-hyeok;So, Jae-hyun(Jason)
    • The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.51-63
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    • 2022
  • Convoy driving is one of the technologies of multi-vehicle cooperation driving along with platoon driving. All over the world, research on vehicle control mechanisms to maintain vehicle formation during convoy driving convoy driving has been actively conducted and in Europe's Autonet 2030 project has developed and demonstrated convoy driving services for highways. But, even the concept of convoy driving is still insufficient in Korea. Therefore, in this study, the concept of convoy driving service was established and scenarios and communication messages for service application on urban roads were developed. And its effectiveness was verified through simulation analysis. As a result of comparing and analyzing individual vehicle cooperative driving and convoy driving for the blind spot support service and dilemma zone safety support service, which are representative V2I cooperative driving services on urban roads, the number of conflicts(indicator of traffic safety) and delays and stops(indicator of traffic efficiency) are significantly improved in convoy driving compared to individual vehicle cooperative driving.

A study on the development of a ship-handling simulation system based on actual maritime traffic conditions (선박조종 시뮬레이터를 이용한 연안 해역 디지털 트윈 구축에 연구)

  • Eunkyu Lee;Jae-Seok Han;Kwang-Hyun Ko;Eunbi Park;Kyunghun Park;Seong-Phil Ann
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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    • 2023.05a
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    • pp.200-201
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    • 2023
  • Digital twin technology is used in various fields as a method of creating a virtual world to minimize the cost of solving problems in the real world, and is also actively used in the maritime field, such as large-scale systems such as ships and offshore plants. In this paper, we tried to build a digital twin of coastal waters using a ship-handling simulator. The digital twin of the coastal waters developed in this way can be used to safely manage Korea's coastal waters, where maritime traffic is complicated, by providing a actual maritime traffic data. It can be usefully used to develop and advance technologies related to maritime autonomous surface ships and intelligent maritime traffic information services in coastal waters. In addition, it can be used as a 3D-based monitoring equipment for areas where physical monitoring is difficult but real-time maritime traffic monitoring is necessary, and can provide functions to safely manage maritime traffic situations such as aerial views of ports/control areas, bridge views/blind sector views of ships in operation.

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Effect of Lythrum salicaria Extract on Body Fat Reduction: A Protocol for a Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial (체지방 감소에 대한 털부처꽃 추출물의 효과: 무작위배정, 이중눈가림, 대조군 비교 인체적용시험 프로토콜)

  • Hye-Jin Park;In Heo;Yea-Jin Park;Hyo-Jin An;Su Shin;Yun-Yeop Cha
    • Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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    • v.24 no.1
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    • pp.87-93
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    • 2024
  • Objectives: Obesity is a globally prevalent public health issue. Hence, there is a need for the development of safer and more effective anti-obesity drugs. Lythrum salicaria, a traditional medicinal herb used for centuries, has been reported to improve lipid metabolism and fat accumulation. It also has a low toxicity profile. Therefore, its potential as a functional ingredient in health functional foods needs to be evaluated. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, 90 participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. Each subject will orally receive L. salicaria extract (1,350 mg/day) (500 mg L. salicaria+850 mg lactose as vehicle) or lactose (1,350 mg/day) as a hard capsule formula for 84 days (12 weeks). The primary outcome will be body fat mass (kg), which will be assessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (performed only at visits 2 and 4). Secondary outcomes include body mass index, body weight, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat percentage (%) measured using DXA, lean body mass (kg) measured using DXA (assessed only at visits 2 and 4), lipids (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and calculated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), free fatty acid, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, adiponectin, and leptin. Conclusions: This protocol will be implemented after approval of Institutional Review Board of Pusan National University Korean Medicine Hospital (approval number: PNUKHIRB-2022-08-002) and registration with the Korean National Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) (CRIS-KCT0008060). The results of this trial will provide potential of L. salicaria as a new anti-obesity functional food with fat-reducing effects and low toxicity.

Recent Progress in Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Research: A Review of Papers Published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering in 2014 (설비공학 분야의 최근 연구 동향: 2014년 학회지 논문에 대한 종합적 고찰)

  • Lee, Dae-Young;Kim, Sa Ryang;Kim, Hyun-Jung;Kim, Dong-Seon;Park, Jun-Seok;Ihm, Pyeong Chan
    • Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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    • v.27 no.7
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    • pp.380-394
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    • 2015
  • This article reviews the papers published in the Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering during 2014. It is intended to understand the status of current research in the areas of heating, cooling, ventilation, sanitation, and indoor environments of buildings and plant facilities. Conclusions are as follows. (1) The research works on the thermal and fluid engineering have been reviewed as groups of heat and mass transfer, cooling and heating, and air-conditioning, the flow inside building rooms, and smoke control on fire. Research issues dealing with duct and pipe were reduced, but flows inside building rooms, and smoke controls were newly added in thermal and fluid engineering research area. (2) Research works on heat transfer area have been reviewed in the categories of heat transfer characteristics, pool boiling and condensing heat transfer and industrial heat exchangers. Researches on heat transfer characteristics included the results for thermal contact resistance measurement of metal interface, a fan coil with an oval-type heat exchanger, fouling characteristics of plate heat exchangers, effect of rib pitch in a two wall divergent channel, semi-empirical analysis in vertical mesoscale tubes, an integrated drying machine, microscale surface wrinkles, brazed plate heat exchangers, numerical analysis in printed circuit heat exchanger. In the area of pool boiling and condensing, non-uniform air flow, PCM applied thermal storage wall system, a new wavy cylindrical shape capsule, and HFC32/HFC152a mixtures on enhanced tubes, were actively studied. In the area of industrial heat exchangers, researches on solar water storage tank, effective design on the inserting part of refrigerator door gasket, impact of different boundary conditions in generating g-function, various construction of SCW type ground heat exchanger and a heat pump for closed cooling water heat recovery were performed. (3) In the field of refrigeration, various studies were carried out in the categories of refrigeration cycle, alternative refrigeration and modelling and controls including energy recoveries from industrial boilers and vehicles, improvement of dehumidification systems, novel defrost systems, fault diagnosis and optimum controls for heat pump systems. It is particularly notable that a substantial number of studies were dedicated for the development of air-conditioning and power recovery systems for electric vehicles in this year. (4) In building mechanical system research fields, seventeen studies were reported for achieving effective design of the mechanical systems, and also for maximizing the energy efficiency of buildings. The topics of the studies included energy performance, HVAC system, ventilation, and renewable energies, piping in the buildings. Proposed designs, performance performance tests using numerical methods and experiments provide useful information and key data which can improve the energy efficiency of the buildings. (5) The field of architectural environment was mostly focused on indoor environment and building energy. The main researches of indoor environment were related to the evaluation of work noise in tunnel construction and the simulation and development of a light-shelf system. The subjects of building energy were worked on the energy saving of office building applied with window blind and phase change material(PCM), a method of existing building energy simulation using energy audit data, the estimation of thermal consumption unit of apartment building and its case studies, dynamic window performance, a writing method of energy consumption report and energy estimation of apartment building using district heating system. The remained studies were related to the improvement of architectural engineering education system for plant engineering industry, estimating cooling and heating degree days for variable base temperature, a prediction method of underground temperature, the comfort control algorithm of car air conditioner, the smoke control performance evaluation of high-rise building, evaluation of thermal energy systems of bio safety laboratory and a development of measuring device of solar heat gain coefficient of fenestration system.

Effect of Beraprost Sodium in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (만성폐쇄성폐질환 환자에서 Beraprost sodium의 효과에 대한 연구: 이중 맹검 무작위 임상시험)

  • Lee, Sang-Do;Seo, Kwang Won;Lee, Jung Yeon;Huh, Jin Won;Choi, Ik Su;Park, Jae Sun;Shim, Tae Sun;Oh, Yeon-Mok;Park, In Won;Ryu, Wang-Seong;Choi, Byoung Whui
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.57 no.4
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    • pp.320-328
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    • 2004
  • Background : Pulmonary vascular changes which occur early in the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are prevalent manifestation and later cause pulmonary hypertension, which is a bad prognostic factor in COPD. Beraprost sodium (BPS), an orally active prostacyclin analogue, has been shown to improve survival in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. This study investigated the effect of BPS in the patients with COPD. Methods : This is a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled, two center clinical trial. Twenty one consecutive patients with COPD were enrolled from June 2003 to June 2004 (patients treated with BPS for 3 months, BPS group, n=11; those with placebo, placebo group, n=10). The baseline demographic, pulmonary function and hemodynamic data were not significantly different between two groups. Results : On echocardiographic examination, trans tricuspid valve pressure gradient has decreased significantly after 3 months with beraprost in the BPS group [17.7(${\pm}11.4$) to 8.2(${\pm}8.9$) mm Hg, p-value<0.05], while there was no significant change in the control group. Six-minute walking distance has decreased in the control group and increased in the BPS group, but there was no statistical significance. Conclusion : In patients with COPD oral administration of BPS reduced the pulmonary arterial pressure. The clinical significance of this finding, that is improving symptoms and natural course of the disease, needs further study.

Review of Research Trends and Evaluation Tools for Clinical Studies of Neck Pain and Cervical Spondylosis : Using the Pubmed Database (Pubmed분석을 통한 경추통과 경추 척추증의 임상연구 최신동향 및 평가도구에 관한 고찰)

  • Kim, Myung Kwan;Kim, Young-Il;Kim, Eun Seok;Jung, In Chul;Park, Yang-Chun;Jeon, Ju Hyun
    • Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.232-246
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this research is to contribute to clinical researches on neck pain and cervical spondylosis by reviewing the latest research trends and evaluation tools through the analyses of clinical studies on neck pain and cervical spondylosis over the last 5 years. 70 papers satisfying the selection conditions among the RCT papers that had been searched as "neck pain" or "cervical spondylosis" at Pubmed(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) from March 2011 to February 2016 were targeted. Papers were numbered in order of their publication dates and analyzed by classifying their contents into 1) pain classification, 2) treatment type, 3) treatment duration, 4) treatment time, 5) number of participants, 6) evaluation tools and methods of research, and 7) evaluation duration. 55 papers targeted chronic neck pain, 6 papers acute and subacute neck pain, and 2 papers subacute and chronic neck pain. In comparison by intervention, 43 papers corresponded to physical therapy, 3 papers to acupuncture, 1 to herbal fomentation, 5 to medication, and 18 papers corresponded to multilateral comparisons comparing the efficacy by various interventions. In research period, there were 50 papers based on treatment period, 16 papers based on the number of treatments, and 4 papers based on different periods depending on each group. In treatment duration, the cases from 1 month or more to less than 3 months were most, followed by the cases of less than 1 month, and the cases from 3 months or more to less than 6 months. In treatment frequency, the number of treatments of the treatment group was the same as that of the control group in 51 papers, and many treatments were conducted by the methods of acupuncture, manual therapy, and injection therapy in cases of once or twice of treatments, and physical therapy and electroacupuncture corresponded mainly to the cases from 3 times or more to less than 10 times of treatments, and retrospective observation and exercise programs corresponded mainly to the cases of more than 30 times of treatments. In the number of subjects of the researches, the cases from 50 or more to less than 100 were most, followed by the cases from 20 or more to less than 50. There were 7 evaluation tools cited 10 times or more: VAS, NRS, PPT, NDI, NPQ, CROM, and SF-36. In evaluation period, 37 papers evaluated only during the treatment period, and 33 papers conducted follow-up. In follow-up period, the cases of less than 3 months were most, followed by the cases from 6 months or more to less than 1 year, and the cases from 3 months or more to less than 6 months. When planning clinical researches on cervical pain in the future, appropriate intervention methods, frequency and duration of treatment, period of follow-up, appropriate number of subjects and selection of evaluation tools for objective validity will have to be considered. In addition, randomization, double-blind, etc. will have to be considered for researches with high basis level.

Analgesic Effect of Sugar Solution in Infantile Colic (설탕물이 영아 산통의 통증 감소에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Jong Seok;Kwon, Kyung Ho;Lee, Young A;Kim, Hyeon Jeong;Lee, Kyun Woo
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.45 no.6
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    • pp.712-718
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    • 2002
  • Purpose : Infantile colic is one of the most commonly encountered problems, characterized by excessive crying in apparently healthy young infants within the first 3 months of life. It is commonly assumed that the infant with colic has distress and possible pain. In recent investigations, it has been found that sucrose has an analgesic effect in newborn infants. The purpose of this study is to examine if sugar solution as sucrose also has an analgesic effect on infant colic. Methods : This prospective randomized, double-blind placebo controlled study examined healthy term infants aged 4 to 12 weeks with colic. A total of 40 infants were randomly assigned into two groups who visited Daedong Hospital from June 1999 to June 2001. Each group received sugar solution or sterile water. All data from parental diaries and interviews were recorded and analysed blindly. Results : The daily crying time and the colic improvement score were significantly better in sugar solution group as compared with the control(P=0.019, 0.045). No significant differences were noted between groups regarding the number of night wakenings(P=0.173). Conclusion : We conclude that sugar solution has an analgesic effect on infantile colic.

THE CURRENT STATUS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING IN THE USA

  • Webster, John G.
    • Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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    • v.1992 no.05
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    • pp.27-47
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    • 1992
  • Engineers have developed new instruments that aid in diagnosis and therapy Ultrasonic imaging has provided a nondamaging method of imaging internal organs. A complex transducer emits ultrasonic waves at many angles and reconstructs a map of internal anatomy and also velocities of blood in vessels. Fast computed tomography permits reconstruction of the 3-dimensional anatomy and perfusion of the heart at 20-Hz rates. Positron emission tomography uses certain isotopes that produce positrons that react with electrons to simultaneously emit two gamma rays in opposite directions. It locates the region of origin by using a ring of discrete scintillation detectors, each in electronic coincidence with an opposing detector. In magnetic resonance imaging, the patient is placed in a very strong magnetic field. The precessing of the hydrogen atoms is perturbed by an interrogating field to yield two-dimensional images of soft tissue having exceptional clarity. As an alternative to radiology image processing, film archiving, and retrieval, picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) are being implemented. Images from computed radiography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound are digitized, transmitted, and stored in computers for retrieval at distributed work stations. In electrical impedance tomography, electrodes are placed around the thorax. 50-kHz current is injected between two electrodes and voltages are measured on all other electrodes. A computer processes the data to yield an image of the resistivity of a 2-dimensional slice of the thorax. During fetal monitoring, a corkscrew electrode is screwed into the fetal scalp to measure the fetal electrocardiogram. Correlations with uterine contractions yield information on the status of the fetus during delivery To measure cardiac output by thermodilution, cold saline is injected into the right atrium. A thermistor in the right pulmonary artery yields temperature measurements, from which we can calculate cardiac output. In impedance cardiography, we measure the changes in electrical impedance as the heart ejects blood into the arteries. Motion artifacts are large, so signal averaging is useful during monitoring. An intraarterial blood gas monitoring system permits monitoring in real time. Light is sent down optical fibers inserted into the radial artery, where it is absorbed by dyes, which reemit the light at a different wavelength. The emitted light travels up optical fibers where an external instrument determines O2, CO2, and pH. Therapeutic devices include the electrosurgical unit. A high-frequency electric arc is drawn between the knife and the tissue. The arc cuts and the heat coagulates, thus preventing blood loss. Hyperthermia has demonstrated antitumor effects in patients in whom all conventional modes of therapy have failed. Methods of raising tumor temperature include focused ultrasound, radio-frequency power through needles, or microwaves. When the heart stops pumping, we use the defibrillator to restore normal pumping. A brief, high-current pulse through the heart synchronizes all cardiac fibers to restore normal rhythm. When the cardiac rhythm is too slow, we implant the cardiac pacemaker. An electrode within the heart stimulates the cardiac muscle to contract at the normal rate. When the cardiac valves are narrowed or leak, we implant an artificial valve. Silicone rubber and Teflon are used for biocompatibility. Artificial hearts powered by pneumatic hoses have been implanted in humans. However, the quality of life gradually degrades, and death ensues. When kidney stones develop, lithotripsy is used. A spark creates a pressure wave, which is focused on the stone and fragments it. The pieces pass out normally. When kidneys fail, the blood is cleansed during hemodialysis. Urea passes through a porous membrane to a dialysate bath to lower its concentration in the blood. The blind are able to read by scanning the Optacon with their fingertips. A camera scans letters and converts them to an array of vibrating pins. The deaf are able to hear using a cochlear implant. A microphone detects sound and divides it into frequency bands. 22 electrodes within the cochlea stimulate the acoustic the acoustic nerve to provide sound patterns. For those who have lost muscle function in the limbs, researchers are implanting electrodes to stimulate the muscle. Sensors in the legs and arms feed back signals to a computer that coordinates the stimulators to provide limb motion. For those with high spinal cord injury, a puff and sip switch can control a computer and permit the disabled person operate the computer and communicate with the outside world.

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Comparison of Retinal Ganglion Cell Responses to Different Voltage Stimulation Parameters in Normal and rd1 Mouse Retina (정상망막과 변성망막에서 전압자극 파라미터 변화에 따른 망막신경절세포의 반응 비교)

  • Ye, Jang-Hee;Ryu, Sang-Baek;Kim, Kyung-Hwan;Goo, Yong-Sook
    • Progress in Medical Physics
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    • v.21 no.2
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    • pp.209-217
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    • 2010
  • Retinal prostheses are being developed to restore vision for the blind with retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) or age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Since retinal prostheses depend upon electrical stimulation to control neural activity, optimal stimulation parameters for successful encoding of visual information are one of the most important requirements to enable visual perception. Therefore, in this paper, we focused on retinal ganglion cell (RGC) responses to different voltage stimulation parameters and compared threshold charge densities in normal and rd1 mice. For this purpose, we used in vitro preparation for the retina of normal and rd1 mice on micro-electrode arrays. When the neural network of rd1 mouse retinas is stimulated with voltage-controlled pulses, RGCs in degenerated retina also respond to voltage amplitude or voltage duration modulation as well in wild-type RGCs. But the temporal pattern of RGCs response is very different; in wild-type RGCs, single peak within 100 ms appears while in RGCs in degenerated retina multiple peaks (~4 peaks) with ~10 Hz rhythm within 400 ms appear. The thresholds for electrical activation of RGCs are overall more elevated in rd1 mouse retinas compared to wild-type mouse retinas: The thresholds for activation of RGCs in rd1 mouse retinas were on average two times higher ($70.50{\sim}99.87\;{\mu}C/cm^2$ vs. $37.23{\sim}61.65\;{\mu}C/cm^2$) in the experiment of voltage amplitude modulation and five times higher ($120.5{\sim}170.6\;{\mu}C/cm^2$ vs. $22.69{\sim}37.57\;{\mu}C/cm^2$) in the experiment of voltage duration modulation than those in wild-type mouse retinas. This is compatible with the findings from human studies that the currents required for evoking visual percepts in RP patients is much higher than those needed in healthy individuals. These results will be used as a guideline for optimal stimulation parameters for upcoming Korean-type retinal prosthesis.