Bionic eye will let the blind see

"It comprises a computer chip that sits in the back of the individual's eye, linked up to a mini video camera built into glasses that they wear.

Images captured by the camera are beamed to the chip, which translates them into impulses that the brain can interpret.

The device has been designed by Professor Gislin Dagnelie at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore."

news.bbc.co.uk...

Interesting and fantastic device, but it has a sinister side. A computer chip can be programs to "see" or not see specific things.

Woah....with this technology and the advancements in nurial (sp) chips...we could see technology leading towards a day and age of androids and super humans.

man..... how do these people figure out how to do this stuff. i hope it really comes thru, that would help a lot of people, and who knows, it could help one of us in the future

That is certainly impressive. I'm curious how things get translated though.

Firstly, an image captured via a camera type device, going on the assumption that it's new, will be in digital format. Bits and bytes. That would need to be translated. What shows blue? What shows red?

If it was a matter of transposing an image onto the retina for example, well that's a whole other story. But for it to go via a chip and somehow connect as the optic nerve into the brain. Wow...

Additionally, I wonder about depth perception. If the device would be on both eyes could it be integrated in the way our eyes are for a 3d image to allow depth perception.

Originally posted by Djarums

Additionally, I wonder about depth perception. If the device would be on both eyes could it be integrated in the way our eyes are for a 3d image to allow depth perception.

Im not an Anatomy expert, but I believe that depth perception is mostly based on stereoscopic vision. In other words, the slight difference in the position of our eys produces an image at slightly different angle for each eye. This slight difference of angle, when superimposed into one image in our brain produces dept and a 3 demensional view.

So as long as there is a slight difference in the angle of view, depth perception should not be a problem.

[edit on 4/7/05 by Kidfinger]

I can see this kind of thing becoming very advanced in the future to the point where people could choose to have their eyes out and replaced with one which are vastly better in all respects. Ie night vision, large zooming capabilities, pattern recognition, anti-glare, automatic stabilisation for when your star gazing etc

Dont fix it if it ant broke . On a lighter note does walmart carry these yet as my right eye has been taken out and I need a replacement.

Originally posted by Djarums
That is certainly impressive. I'm curious how things get translated though.

Firstly, an image captured via a camera type device, going on the assumption that it's new, will be in digital format. Bits and bytes. That would need to be translated. What shows blue? What shows red?

If it was a matter of transposing an image onto the retina for example, well that's a whole other story. But for it to go via a chip and somehow connect as the optic nerve into the brain. Wow...

Exactly, interfacing manmade technology with neural electronics is the only obstacle to the development of cyborg-like biological supplement technology. I must have read something wrong, this is impossible!

Zip

US researchers have been given the go-ahead to implant the prototype device in 50 to 75 patients.

Now taken from the OP original link.

They have already tested implants containing a handful of electrodes, but the end device will contain 50-100 to give a better overall picture.

Now from updated link.

The new implant has a higher resolution than the earlier devices, with 60 electrodes.

From here.

Well the Argus II system has been given the go ahead to implant these things.



1: Camera on glasses views image
2: Signals are sent to hand-held device
3: Processed information is sent back to glasses and wirelessly transmitted to receiver under surface of eye
4: Receiver sends information to electrodes in retinal implant
5: Electrodes stimulate retina to send information to brain


[edit on 17-2-2007 by Denied]

**UPDATE**

World's First True Bionic Eye.

Forget the glasses, this is directly put into the eye.

The pea-sized video camera is small enough to fit inside the eyeball. The camera is linked to an artificial retina that transmits moving images along the optic nerve to brain.

Meanwhile in California, scientists are developing an implant with 1,000 electrodes, which should allow facial recognition.

Cool!

Link.

reply to post by DrHoracid

Now can they make it affordable and availble to ALL who could see again? That would make this technology seem like baking a cake.

reply to post by ufo3


Yes, I would like to order 2 eyeballs, green, no make that blue, no, hazel, and with large iris's , I want to be able to see through walls, at least a 5 mile range, on earth, with the telescoping feature for night gazing, anti glare,and a side of eyelashes that match....LOL!

[edit on 21-4-2008 by space cadet]

Will this be in 1080p? Hopefully they will have something like this for color blind people someday. All we would have to do to see true color would be to simply gouge out our eyes and replace them with the new and improved bionic eyes, in full color!

Originally posted by Djarums
That is certainly impressive. I'm curious how things get translated though.

Firstly, an image captured via a camera type device, going on the assumption that it's new, will be in digital format. Bits and bytes. That would need to be translated. What shows blue? What shows red?

If it was a matter of transposing an image onto the retina for example, well that's a whole other story. But for it to go via a chip and somehow connect as the optic nerve into the brain. Wow...

Additionally, I wonder about depth perception. If the device would be on both eyes could it be integrated in the way our eyes are for a 3d image to allow depth perception.

So far, it's just an array of dots, in very low resolution. There is no color. It is not yet understood how one would go about giving the brain a color image in high resolution.

Similarly, there's no provisions for depth perception. The scientists and engineers just figure that the blind people will be significantly enabled by any sort of vision, and a 6x10 electrode array isn't exactly capable of the kind of accuracy that would be necessary for convincing depth perception anyway.


As to the Op, it's true that a computer could edit things out of people's vision, but computer image recognition is just as primitive as artificial eyes, so it would be incredibly difficult to get a computer to recognize just about anything at all, let alone edit it out of someone's vision with more grace than just putting a black censor bar over it. I'm willing to be that artificial eye technology will advance faster than computer image recognition. That's one of the few things the human brain can do much better than any machine.

Our brave, blind truth-seeker could simply walk around looking for parts of the world that are censored, and bring his non-blind friends to investigate what nefarious conspirators have covered up in places blind people can get to. It just doesn't seem like a good plan.

This is great news! I hope they will be able to get better resolution and colour soon! I'm blind in one eye so i can still see and it would be weird having one eye blurry and the other normal.