AHMET BURAK KURT (Kurt)
Predicting functional vision via multi-sensory interactions
Update Nov. 2024
I joinedUnit for Visually Impaired People at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova Italy in August 2022.I am carrying out the project under the supervision of Dr. Monica Gori and Prof. Dr. Silvio P. Sabatini.
Personal Background and Interests:
- Bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages Education at Yıldız Technical University
- Teaching experience as a lecturer at Kapadokya University's Aviation Department.
- Master's degree in Cognitive Science at Yeditepe University. During my studies, I focused on cognitive vision and subsequently applied for my current position.
- Ph.D. student in the Bioengineering and Robotics department at Università degli Studi di Genova. My research primarily involves developing applications and devices for detecting visual scotoma.
Aim of the project:
The objectives of this project are to 1) determine whether individuals with a scotoma experience audio-spatial compression in their blind zone and whether this can be used to establish the presence of scotoma and predict functional vision and 2) use a recently developed audio device and VR to quantify the auditory space compression with psychophysics, eye-tracking. 3) develop new software and hardware to improve the state of art assessment process.
Current activities:
Since joining OPTIVIST’s 3rd Training Event and Symposium in 2022, I have actively contributed to the development of four experimental protocols designed to assess the functional vision in individuals with scotoma. My focus has been on measuring findings from the literature under specific conditions, aiming to understand how vision adapts to this impairment. Additionally, I have developed software capable of detecting scotoma presence within controlled experimental trials. I have also contributed to the design and implementation of a new device aimed at helping scientific exploration of multisensory perception. Collaborative work with Eli Brenner at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and David Crabb at City, University of London has furthered this project’s scope. Currently, I am validating a novel VR device that simulates various visual impairments and am initiating a project with Erhardt Barth and Yaxin Hu at Universität zu Lübeck to enhance my software using machine learning techniques.
Future directions:
The findings and advancements from this project are intended for publication in scientific journals.
I remain committed to developing new technologies and enhancing the tools we have already created.
Project output
- Guarischi M., Hu Y., Kurt A. B., Zanchi S., Barth E., Gori M. (2024). A Machine Learning Approach to Unveil Balance Behavior Through Aging with an Auditory Cue, IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA).
- Kurt A. B., Landolfi L., Gori M., Brenner E. (2024). People do not automatically avoid regions in which feedback about their movements is occluded, European Conference on Visual Perception.
- Kurt A. B., Domenici N., Tonelli A., Landolfi L., Zanchi S., Sabatini S. P., Facchini V., Groenhoff S., Gori M. (2024). V-Spy Scotoma: A game designed to map and detect scotoma, IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA).
- Kurt A. B., Tonelli A., Domenici N., Sabatini S., Gori M. (2023). Draw Your Scotoma: Sensory-motor task as a New Screening Tool, International Multisensory Research Forum.
- Kurt A. B., Tonelli A., Domenici N., Sabatini S., Gori M. (2023). Perception of dynamic stimuli: Toward a new methodology for scotoma patients, European Conference on Visual Perception.
