Convert.ToUInt16 (Object) converts object to a 16-bit unsigned integer.
Class Sample Public Shared Sub Main() Dim values() As Object = { True, 163, "x"c, #5/12/2010#,"1.00e2", "One", 1.00e2} Dim result As UShort For Each value As Object In values Try result = Convert.ToUInt16(value) Console.WriteLine("Converted the {0} value '{1}' to the {2} value {3}.", _ value.GetType().Name, value, _ result.GetType().Name, result) Catch e As OverflowException Console.WriteLine("OverflowException",value.GetType().Name, value) Catch e As FormatException Console.WriteLine("The {0} value {1} is not in a recognizable format.", _ value.GetType().Name, value) Catch e As InvalidCastException Console.WriteLine("No conversion to an Int16 exists for the {0} value {1}.", _ value.GetType().Name, value) End Try Next End Sub End Class