A very promising technology to overcome blindness to mimic the function of the retina of the human eye. What if the blindness can be treated as easy as turning on the lights? That is what is being pursued in a study by a team of doctors at the Oxford Eye Hospital, UK.
They are trying to restore the eyesight to blind people by using the latest bionic technology. The trick is to embed an analog chip on the back of the eyeball.
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| Profile of the electronic retinal implant. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/23dGl0a) |
As quoted of the Geek on Friday, January 8, 2016, the chip has a function to captures light and then forward the signal to the brain, similar to the role of the eye's retina. The chip is paired with a microprocessor as the data processor embedded in the skin behind the ear.
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| X-ray showing position of chip and power supply. (Picture from: http://bit.ly/1Wt2raf) |
This processor sends electrical signals of the light captured by chip to the optic nerves and read by to the brain into visual form. This technology could be used for blind people who suffering of retinal damage due to the disease.
The developers of the chip, German based Retina Implant, concluded a study in 2014 in which 26 patients had the subretinal chip implanted and showed marked improvement in their vision. 80% were able to distinguish light, while 54% had the ability to make out shapes.
The chip users can improve the contrast and adjust the frequency to clarify the captured image. Indeed, this technology need to be developed further. The image resolution that captured by the chips was less than 1 megapixel. In the future, it quite possible could give the eyesight to the blind. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | RETINA IMPLANT | GEEK]
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