VISOR The VISOR , acronym for Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement , was a medical device used in the Federation to aid patients who had suffered loss of eyesight or who were born blind . The VISOR detected electromagnetic signals across the entire EM spectrum between 1 Hz and 100 , 000 THz and transmitted those signals to the brain through neural implants in the temples of the individual via delta - compressed wavelengths . A bank of preprocessors uses a pulse compression routine to compress the data stream into pulses so that it doesn ' t overload the senses . ( ) The result was a vastly different visual acuity , with VISOR - wearers able to see in the infrared and ultraviolet ranges and beyond . To Human eyes with good vision , the images relayed through the VISOR could seem disorienting and unfamiliar . ( ) Geordi La Forge , born blind , was given his first VISOR after his fifth birthday . ( ) The VISOR he wore in 2364 was banded in silver metal with golden tines , alternating in placement from the top and bottom bands . ( ) In 2365 , La Forge began wearing a new VISOR , which had tines stretching from the top to bottom bands equally . ( ) By 2373 , La Forge had begun to rely on ocular implant s which eliminated the need for a VISOR . ( ) Capabilities . The VISOR proved useful in unique applications from time to time . La Forge used the VISOR to : While trapped on the surface of Galorndon Core , La Forge and Centurion Bochra were able to couple La Forge ' s VISOR with a Federation tricorder to detect a class 3 probe with a neutrino beacon to transmit their location to the ship in orbit . ( ) While being held hostage on Arkaria Base , the crew of the reconfigured the VISOR to emit a hypersonic pulse to incapacitate their captors . ( ) One of La Forge ' s spare VISORs was among a variety of objects that Berlinghoff Rasmussen tried to steal from the crew of the " Enterprise " - D when he was visiting the ship in 2368 . ( ) La Forge once joked that he could see through a certain type of playing card , while explaining to Worf how he knew his cards . La Forge then dismissed the joke , though , stating that he only peeked at the cards after the hand was over . ( ) The VISOR inadvertently caused several problems as well . Using it caused La Forge physical pain , a result of his natural senses conflicting with the artificial sensory input from the device . Dr . Beverly Crusher offered him the options of either painkillers or exploratory surgery to desensitize the areas of his brain that were being affected , but La Forge declined both because they would interfere with the operation of the VISOR itself . ( ) When Romulan s kidnapped La Forge in 2367 , they were able to use his existing neural implants to tap directly into his visual cortex and secretly brainwash him . As the VISOR was capable of receiving E - band emissions , a collaborator was able to remotely control the brainwashed La Forge with an E - band transmitter . ( ) When activated , the VISOR emitted a short - range subspace field pulse . While usually harmless , this emission caused Worf to shift between quantum realities in 2370 , whenever he was in close proximity with the device ; the pulse aggravated a quantum flux that Worf began experiencing after he came into contact with a quantum fissure . ( ) In 2371 , Doctor Tolian Soran modified La Forge ' s VISOR to transmit a live video feed of his range of view to the Duras sisters ' ship . Lursa and B ' Etor used the footage to discover the " Enterprise " s shield frequency . ( ) By 2373 , La Forge had stopped using the VISOR in favor of ocular implant s . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The idea of the VISOR was thought up by David Gerrold , who also suggested La Forge ' s blindness . " " I envisioned Geordi La Forge with some kind of eye treatment ; maybe just a couple of enlarged lenses that you put over the actor ' s eyes , " " he recalled . ( " " , pp . 98 - 99 ) Gene Roddenberry likened the VISOR to the tricorder , since both tools provided sensor capabilities . ( " " , p . 99 ) The art staff assigned to spent three months working on possible designs for the VISOR . ( " " , 3rd ed . , p . 21 ) After several test models of the device were produced , Scenic Artist Michael Okuda brought a plastic barrette – which generally fits over a girl ' s or woman ' s head – into the production , one day , having discovered it could be used to represent the VISOR . ( Herman Zimmerman , TNG Season 1 DVD special feature " The Making of a Legend " , part " VISOR " ) Re - manufactured to fit actor LeVar Burton ' s face , it retained some elements from illustrator Rick Sternbach ' s designs . Despite these embellishments , many fans quickly guessed that the prop took its inspiration from a barrette . ( " " , 3rd ed . , p . 21 ) In addition , Robert Justman wasn ' t satisfied with the result either . " " They went with the air filter look , which I totally did not like , " " he lamented . " " You cover up too much of an actor ' s eyes and he ' s got nothing to work with . " " ( " " , p . 99 ) It was Michael Westmore , Jr . who proposed having connection points on the sides of La Forge ' s head , which was done using s . His father , Make - Up Supervisor Michael Westmore , later recalled , " " The idea for Geordi ' s LEDs came out of a conversation I had with my son as we walked across the Paramount lot to the production office . Michael , who had worked for me a few times in the past , thought we should have an interesting effect to indicate the contact point [ . . . ] So Mike , Jr . built a pair of little metal attachments that had flat bottoms and could be glued to Levar Burton ' s makeup . They had wires running through LeVar ' s hair and down the back of his neck to a small battery pack underneath his arm . " " ( " " , p . 70 ) A tiny filament stretching from the VISOR prop to behind LeVar Burton ' s ear was used to keep the prop attached to his face . By looking closely at some episodes , including , the filament can be seen . In , pop singer Rihanna ( in collaboration with French fashion label Dior ) developed a line of sunglasses inspired by La Forge ' s VISOR . She commented , " " I ' ve always been obsessed with his [ La Forge ' s ] eye wear . " "