A team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they've come up with an innovative device that allows the blind to "see" the world around them, with even better clarity than experimental implanted "bionic eyes."

Medical researchers Dr. Amir Amedi and Ph.D. student Ella Striem-Amit are testing out a sensory substitution device (SSD) called "The vOICe" developed by a Dutch researcher that uses an algorithm to convert images from a miniature camera into " soundscapes," according to the school.

With a little training and practice, the SSD user can be taught to hear and then interpret the translated visual information coming from the camera, and mentally "see" the image.

Eight congenitally blind test subjects were able to identify " complex everyday objects, locate people and their postures, read letters and words, and even identify facial expressions," the university said in a statement.

Additionally, using a standard Snellen eye chart, the subjects not only could recognize fine visual details in the steadily decreasing rows of "E's" - using sound alone, the majority were able to read smaller letters than the standard World Health Organization blindness threshold.

The device could be a boon to the estimated 39 million officially blind worldwide, due to it's simplicity, and, unlike implanted retinal prostheses, non-invasive method.

The results were published recently in the American PLoS One Journal, according to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.