Artificial eye: human trials at year end

An artificial eye that will partly restore sight to the blind was presented during a scientific conference held in Great Britain and human trials will begin within a year.

'It is a great technological breakthrough which has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people', Anita Lifestone, Director of the Royal National Institute for the Blind commented. 'However, we must be aware that we are still a long way from a final product of proven effectiveness'.

The device consists of a video camera and a microcomputer installed in special glasses worn by the patient. The aim is to stimulate the optical nerves in such a way that the brain "believes" that an eye which has been damaged beyond repair is working more or less normally.

The camera captures the image of a person or an object, translates it and then beams it to a microchip inserted in the eyeball. The microchip stimulates the eyeball's nerve ends, which then send impulses to the brain where the image picked up by the camera is formed. Of course, the brain can only make an approximate reconstruction of the original image captured by the device, but it will be clear enough for faces and certain objects to be recognized.

'These images may appear imperfect to a sighted person', stated professor Gislin Dagnelie of the John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland (Usa), who handled the project on behalf of Second Sight, 'but for blind people they represent a massive step ahead'.

Second Sight hopes to begin trials on patients within the next twelve months.

(Source: La Repubblica)