About Freedom Scientific

Freedom Scientific is the world’s leader in technology solutions for people with visual impairments. Our low vision products are designed to improve the lives of those whose eyesight is diminished due to causes including diabetes, macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and retinitis pigmentosa.

Our Mission

To develop, manufacture, and market technology-based products that provide equal access to information and computing for those with vision impairments or learning disabilities.

Our History

In April 2000, Freedom Scientific was formed by combining three companies: Blazie Engineering, Henter-Joyce and Arkenstone. A brief biography of those who founded these three companies along with Freedom Scientific's President and CEO can be found below.

Freedom Scientific has a nine-person board of directors, including three independent business executives; two are blind users of the company's products. Another director's daughter, who is blind, also is a long-time customer. In addition, 45 of our associates are vision impaired.

Our company mission is: To develop, manufacture and market innovative technology-based products and services that those with vision impairments and learning disabilities use to change their world.

Ted Henter, an engineer by training, learned computer programming after losing his sight in a 1978 car accident. In 1985, he started his own business. Two years later, he founded Henter-Joyce and began developing his first screen reader software that converts computer text to speech so people who are vision impaired can use a computer. Today, JAWS® for Windows is the world's best selling screen reading software, exceeding 100,000 users worldwide and growing. By allowing persons who are blind or with low vision achieve the same or higher productivity in computer-based jobs as sighted people, JAWS has increased employment and educational opportunities while helping employers meet requirements established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Henter-Joyce also developed other software products including MAGic screen magnification and Connect Outloud Web access software. Ted Henter was named to the Freedom Scientific board in July 2002.

In 1986, Deane Blazie, an electrical engineer with an advanced degree in computer science, formed Blazie Engineering and developed the Braille 'n Speak, the world's first notetaker with Braille key input and speech or data output. Notetakers soon became the device of choice among blind college students and professionals, who use them to take notes in class or meetings, keep their address books and update their personal calendars, among other functions. By the year 2000, Blazie offered five models and had sold more than 50,000 notetakers. Blazie is a leader in other hardware products for those who are blind, such as Braille embossers/printers, refreshable Braille displays and other products.

Jim Fruchterman, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur specializing in optical character recognition, founded Arkenstone in 1989 in order to bring the benefits of his OCR technology to those who are blind by developing software-based reading systems. When documents are scanned these systems use the PC's sound card to read aloud documents, from books and newspapers to mail. Arkenstone's flagship software product, OpenBook, is the world's leading scanning and reading software for people with vision impairments. Arkenstone also developed WYNN, a scanning software program that helps school children or adults with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, read independently.

Dr. Lee Hamilton came to Freedom Scientific as president of the Blind Low/Vision group in March of 2002 and also was appointed to the board of directors. He was named president and CEO of Freedom Scientific Inc. in July of 2002. Before joining Freedom Scientific, he was the President and CEO of AirNet Communications Corporation, a technology start-up he took public in 1999. Prior to AirNet, Dr. Hamilton held management positions of increasing responsibility at Motorola, Inc. including general manager of the System Transmission Products Business. Before joining Motorola, Dr. Hamilton received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Purdue University and was a professor of Electrical Engineering at The Ohio State University.