E&S PC Image Generator to Support Vision Research at Harvard

Business Wire, Nov 5, 2001

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2001

Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation (E&S(R)) (Nasdaq:ESCC)--Evans & Sutherland's simFUSION(TM) PC-based image generator has been chosen to support laboratory research at a Harvard Medical School-affiliated institute, the company announced today.

The Schepens Eye Research Institute will use simFUSION to evaluate the effectiveness of low-vision aids being developed to help patients with impaired vision.

Noted Harvard researcher Dr. Eli Peli, operating under a grant from the National Eye Institute, is using simFUSION's image generation capabilities to help create a virtual mall environment. Patients wearing the Institute's vision aids will walk on a treadmill in front of a large screen displaying imagery generated by simFUSION, creating the impression of walking through a mall. As the patients move through the "mall," researchers can safely challenge their vision by putting obstacles in their paths and recording whether the patients see the obstacles. Because patients are immersed in a simulated environment, the researchers can evaluate the effectiveness of the vision aids with no hazard to the patients, something that would be impossible in a real world environment.

"simFUSION brings some new advantages to our research efforts," said Dr. Peli, senior scientist for at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. "Using this technique, we will now be able to verify the effectiveness of our visual aids to our patients in a controlled laboratory environment. In addition, we can use our virtual mall to help us evaluate how well our patients have learned to use the aids."

E&S simFUSION represents the most advanced graphics technology for PC-based image generators, offering several important advantages for research and virtual reality facilities. Key features include: high performance stereo at 1280x1024 at 120Hz for standard and specialized viewing devices and displays; geometry correction, to optimize displays on curved screens and domes; gigapixel fill rates with full screen antialiasing; support for the latest research and virtual reality tools and applications using either a Windows or Linux-based operating system.

About The Schepens Eye Research Institute

The Schepens Eye Research Institute is the largest independent eye research institute in the United States. An affiliate of Harvard Medical School and located in Boston, Massachusetts, the Institute has made a major impact on ophthalmic practice internationally. Its faculty has published over 3,000 scientific papers and has trained nearly 500 ophthalmic specialists from more than 30 countries. The research programs of The Schepens Eye Research Institute include both basic and clinical studies focused in several areas: biology of the retina and its diseases; ocular surface diseases; immunity, inflammation and transplantation; vision and visual optics; and ocular gene therapy. Visit the Institute's Web site at http://www.eri.harvard.edu, and link to Dr. Peli's Web site from there.

About Evans & Sutherland

Evans & Sutherland produces professional hardware and software to create highly realistic visual images for simulation, training, engineering, and other applications throughout the world. E&S visual systems are used in both military and commercial systems, as well as planetariums and interactive theaters. Visit the E&S Web site at http://www.es.com.