Medical electronics I: Hearing through sight and feeling: Microelectronic aids to speech and comprehension in the form of visual and tactile devices may soon be available

Microelectronics is opening new ways for 1.8 million deaf people in the United States to “hear” others. With data processors in a chip, it is now possible to build hearing aids that alter speech according to the individual needs of those with impaired hearing. Training equipment, for example, can make use of a child's sense of sight or touch to teach word pronunciation. Telephone links can be adapted to convert spoken words into printed words on a teletypewriter and vice versa.