Researchers have made a breakthrough in
restoring the ability to read for blind people with the speed they were
formerly accustomed to, by using a "bionic eye" implant to transmit
Braille patterns directly on to patients' retinas.
The successful trial was
carried out using a device called Argus II, which allows patients suffering
from retinal damage or degeneration to see color, movement and even objects.
The device operates on a similar principal as canada goose
nederland
popular cochlear implants, known colloquially
as "bionic ears." These implants - which, unlike the Argus II, can be
used even in people who were born deaf - gather information from an external
sound and speech processor and turn them into electrical signals that are
transmitted directly to the auditory nerve.
The Argus II consists of a pair
of glasses mounted with a small camera, plus a processor that transmits the
data recorded by the camera directly to an implant on the patient's retinas.
The implant, consisting of 60 electrodes, electrically stimulates the retina
using the same signals that would occur in a healthy eye, thereby transmitting
information directly to the brain. The resolution of the image is limited to 60
pixels; however , and thus conveys general impressions rather than high detail.
The Argus II costs $115,000 and
takes about four hours to implant. It is currently in use by approximately 50
people worldwide. One of the device's major shortcomings; however, has been
that due to limited recognition of complex shapes, users of the device are
still able to read only slowly, by carefully interpreting large letters one at
a time.
A breakthrough in sight
restoration
In the new study, published in
the journal Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics, researchers from Argus II
manufacturer Second Sight used a computer to directly stimulate the implant
portion of the Argus II to project Braille letters onto a participant's retina.
Because the letters consisted of only six pixels , they were able to be
completely replicated even within the device's 60 pixel limitation.
"In this clinical test
with a single blind patient, we bypassed the camera that is the usual input for
the implant and directly stimulated the Canada
Goose Vest Heren
lead
researcher Thomas Lauritzen said. "Instead of feeling the Braille on the
tips of his fingers, the patient could see the patterns we projected and then
read individual letters in less than a second with up to 89 percent
accuracy."
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