Ground-breaking Bionic eye technology offers great promise to the blind

An innovative venture spearheaded by Professor Mark Humayun, (Ophthalmology Professor at Keck School, USC and Associate Director of Research at the Doheny Retina Institute), could finally restore eyesight to blind people. It is a fact that most cases of blindness are preventable and reversible. The team of researchers behind the project already has the FDA’s blessings. If everything goes well and according to plan, millions of blind people could have their sight restored in two years.
So how does this work? Bionic technology makes use of a bionic eye implant, which has a built-in camera that transmits visual information to electrodes at the back of the retina. Earlier prototypes of the implant which were considerably larger and had 16 electrodes, enabled patients perceive shapes, light and even movement.
According to Professor Humayun, the research team is working on a new device that will take up and process images from a camera into electrical pulses. The patient will be able to view images from a camera on their glasses, and the pulses are then sent to a hand-held device. The processed visual information is relayed back to the patient’s glasses and consequently transmitted to a receiver in the eye. From here, the receiver sends visual information to electrodes in the retina. This stimulates the retina, which eventually sends the information to the brain. The implants have already been fitted in several patients. A typical second-generation implant measures approximately one square millimeter and is packed with an impressive 60 electrodes.
Retinal implants offer promise to an estimated 25 million worldwide. The implants have the ability to restore sight to those who have been severely visually impaired.
On a much more promising note is the recent finding that the brain is an invaluable asset in fighting blindness. Recent studies show that the brain has the ability to enable sight, regardless of any visual impairment present earlier on in life. This means that sight can be restored to millions of blind children worldwide. An example was the case of an Indian woman named SRD who had her sight restored at age 12 through a cataract operation. She performed well in numerous vision tests and was even able to recognize objects, light, darkness, patterns and movement.
SRD died in a road accident. Her exceptional case has sparked studies as well as casting doubts on traditionally held beliefs in visual development.