Even with such a small number of electrodes that allowed for a small patch of vision, patients unexpectedly said they found the device useful by moving their heads back and forth and scanning the environment, said Dr. Greenberg.

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The laser scanning technology enabled us to investigate the natural environment in a completely new light by bringing the outcrop with its inaccessible cliffs, volcanic fissures and lava lakes into the computer where it could be analysed.

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