Microchip is helping restore vision to the blind - The Diigo Meta page

• 30 Jun 08
  

  harry palmer

  cybernetics vision blindness cool science

  • Ten patients are now enrolled in a clinical trial of the device based on Liu's microchip at four leading ophthalmic centers in the United States. Patients are also enrolled in trials in Mexico, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. Developed through a large collaborative effort involving biomedical researchers nationwide, the retinal prosthesis is an implantable electronic device intended for patients blinded by diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.  
     
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      These diseases destroy the light receptors in the retina, but not the nerve fibers that connect the eye to the brain. The implanted microchip stimulates the neurons in the retina, relaying visual signals that are transmitted to the chip from a tiny video camera integrated into a pair of sunglasses.

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