Concept glasses project images onto the retina with pulsed infrared light (880-915 nm), subretinal photodiode sends the image to the nearvous system (via Stanford & Nature Photonics)
Advances in the field of optogenetics are bringing us one step closer to returning sight to the blind. Retinal degenerative disease leads to blindness due to a loss of photoreceptors in the eye. Current technology includes intraocular cables and difficult surgery. However, a team of researchers from Stanford University have created a smaller more convenient device using near infrared light to transmit power and data into the eye.
Their system includes specially designed video goggles and photovoltaic subretinal electrode arrays. The video goggles record what the patient is seeing and then uses a small mounted-camera to send the information back in near infrared light pulses to the array. The pulses then electrically stimulate the optic nerve in durations of 0.5–4.0 milliseconds and two orders of magnitude below the safety limits. Additionally, the system allows image perception to feel more natural by preserving natural eye movement. The system has yet to be tested on humans, but the previous tests done on lab rats have all yielded promising results.
Overall, the system has many advantages over current methods to help restore vision. It is more practical, easier to implant into the eye, and allows eye movement to scan a view with a more natural feeling. Eliminating wires and power supplies will make the patient feel more comfortable with the final product. Soon a patient overcome with blindness due to retinal degenerative disease will be able to have surgery performed to restore vision. Medical innovations like show that every disssability will be overcome. This announcement comes off the heels of a recent subretinal implant test, see more after the link.
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