SBIR-STTR Award

The technologies of pressure sensitive paper and encapsulation have advanced remarkably in recent years. To be determined is whether particles, activated by mild heat, pressure, or other means, can be encapsulated in a paper material so that when stimulated, will provide immediate colored, raised impressions. The color contrast as well as the tactile reinforcement will benefit the low-vision person; the tactile impression will benefit the blind. The active agent, to be encapsulated in a selected paper, will be stimulated by a pencil-like device, allowing the user to draw or write in freehand fashion, causing a colored raised impression. No equipment other than "paper" and "pencil" will be required. Existing devices or techniques each require training, equipment, or are inadequate.Development of such paper and pencil will lessen the isolation of the visually handicapped, providing a communication tool available to handicapped and nonhandicapped. Individuals who are visually handicapped, schools, employers, and agencies serving the handicapped provide a significant market for the commercializa tion of this innovation.Since encapsulation techniques and technologies related to chemically treated papers have advanced in recent years, the feasibility of these innovations now merits evaluation.National Eye Institute (NEI)

Phase I determined that particles, activated by heat, pressure, chemicals, or other means, can be encapsulated in a paper material; this material, when stimulated, will provide immediate, colored, raised impressions. Both the color contrast and the tactile reinforcement will benefit low-vision persons; the tactile impression will benefit the blind. The active agent, encapsulated in a selected paper, will be stimulated by an imaging pen, allowing the user to draw or write in free-hand fashion, causing a colored, raised impression. No equipment other than the paper and pen will be required. Existing enhancement devices and techniques require training and equipment, or are inadequate.Development of this pen-and-paper device will lessen the isolation of the visually handicapped and will provide a communication tool available to both handicapped and nonhandicapped. Visually handicapped individuals and schools, employers, and agencies serving the visually handicapped constitute a significant market for commercialization of this innovation.Phase II will involve field-testing and evaluation of several tactile-encapsulated papers that were determined to be technologically and economically feasible in Phase I. Populations of the visually handicapped, including a variety of forms of visual impairment and subject age, have been identified for the assessment of which paper offers maximum satisfaction and capability. National Eye Institute (NEI)