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Wed 3 Nov, 2010 01:08 pm
This is amazing!
Implanted chip 'allows blind people to detect objects':
A man with an inherited form of blindness has been able to identify letters and a clock face using a pioneering implant, researchers say.
source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11670044
Retinitis pigmentosa kills the retina's photoreceptors, which are the rod and cone cells that convert light into electrical signals for the brain, leading to vision loss. This disease, one of the most common forms of inherited retinal degeneration, affects about one in 4,000 people in the U.S. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss in the U.S. among people 60 years and older, gradually destroys sharp, central vision. The macula (the light-sensitive retinal tissue at the back of the eye) degenerates in two ways: In "dry" AMD the macula's light-sensitive cells slowly break down; in the "wet" form abnormal blood vessels behind the retina start to grow under the macula, thereby displacing it.
Retina Implant's device is a three- by three-millimeter microelectronic chip (0.1 millimeter thick), containing about 1,500 light-sensitive photodiodes, amplifiers and electrodes that is implanted directly under the retina to generate artificial vision by stimulating inner retina nerve cells. The chip, which is placed in the retina's macular region, absorbs light entering the eye and converts it into electricity that stimulates any still-functioning retinal nerves. This stimulation is relayed to the brain through the optical nerve.
It takes the brain one or two days to adapt to chip-assisted vision, according to Zrenner. "Lines are typically all that can be expected to be seen initially by people with retinal implants," he says. "However, scientists are finding that the human brain can quickly retrain itself to interpret the lines and shapes of different gray levels into meaningful images." With the aid of a chip one Retina Implant patient reported seeing images and words slightly flickering as though they were viewed through small waves at the bottom of a pool, Zrenner adds.
Source:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=retinal-implant-vision
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/nov/03/vision-chip-sight-blind-man
Yes, Iz, I saw that and saved it. Major deal, I think.
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