The
visually impaired can now partially see with the new FDA approved bionic eye
called Argus II. Its function, as described by the Wall Street Journal, is to
“…[send] electrical stimulation to the retina to induce vision in individuals
afflicted with retinitis pigmentosa.” Retinitis pigmentosa causes retina
damage, could eventually lead to blindness and affects about 100,000 Americans.
The
Argus II consists of a retinal prosthesis implanted in the eye and a pair of
glasses that work with the implant to enable the wearer to see in black and
white and high contrasts. A video camera in the glasses captures an image,
sends it to a small computer in the glasses, which turn it into digital data.
That data goes to a receiver in the implant, triggers electrodes to stimulate
the retina which helps the brain to process the information normally. The
implant is now available in Europe but will be coming later this year to the
U.S.
Doctor
and medical professor at USC, Mark Humayun, aided in creating the device. He was
quoted saying, “…many patients can use
the Argus implant in their activities of daily living such as recognizing large
letters, locating the position of objects, and more… the promise to the
patients is real and we expect it only to improve over time.” Hopefully
scientists will continue to experiment with the implant to produce better
results as well as possibly a way for the visually impaired to fully see with a
fresh pair of eyes.
No comments:
Post a Comment