Lance Cpl Lundberg using the BrainPort device and 'lollipop'. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSELONDON - A BRITISH soldier left blind by a grenade in Iraq has told how his life has been transformed by ground-breaking technology that enables him to 'see' with his tongue.
Lance Corporal Craig Lundberg, 24, can read words, make out shapes and walk without assistance, thanks to a device developed in the United States which could change the lives of other blind people.
Lance Cpl Lundberg, from Liverpool in north-west England, lost his sight completely after being struck by a rocket-propelled grenade while serving in Basra in 2007.
Faced with a life of relying on a guide dog, he was chosen by the Ministry of Defence as the first person in Britain to trial the BrainPort device, which could revolutionise treatment for the blind.
The device converts camera images into electrical pulses, which are sent to a 'lollipop' that the user places on his tongue.
'You get lines and shapes of things. It sees in black and white so you get a two-dimensional image on your tongue - it's a bit like a pins-and-needles sensation,' Lance Cpl Lundberg explained to BBC on Monday.
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