Bionic Eye Gives Blind Man Sight
By BBC News,Publication Date: March 3, 2009
Article features a bionic eye which can return some eyesight to a blind person. The experimental device, known as Argus II, uses a camera and video processor mounted on sunglasses to send captured images wirelessly to a tiny receiver on the outside of the eye. The receiver in turn transmits the data via a tiny cable to an array of electrodes implanted on the retina. When the electrodes are stimulated, they send messages along the optic nerve to the brain, which is able to perceive patterns of light and dark spots depending on which electrodes have been stimulated. One recipient of Argus II, a 73-year-old British man who had been blind for 30 years due to retinitis pigmentosa, reports being able to sort socks and follow white lines on a road after receiving the implant. His treatment is part of an international trial involving 18 patients and carried out by the U.S. company Second Sight. The article includes links to two brief videos: an interview with the implant recipient and a graphic presentation of the procedure, as well as a 3-minute audio discussion with one of the physicians on the research team.
Published by: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (Website:http://www.bbc.co.uk)
Link to text: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7919645.stm
Link to video: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7920603.stm
