Electronic implant allows the blind to see

Electronic implant allows the blind to see

www.newscientist.com[/ url]

Groups in Germany and the US have been testing electronic implants aimed at restoring vision to people with retinal dystrophy. The condition is hereditary or age-related, and causes degeneration of the photoreceptors – light-sensitive cells in the retina – leading to blindness. It affects 15 million people worldwide.

Eberthart Zrenner and colleagues at the University of Tübingen in Germany have developed a microchip carrying 1500 photosensitive diodes that slides into the retina where the photoreceptors would normally be. The diodes respond to light, and when connected to an outside po

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And the march continues towards the man and machine combination, frankly i think in the far far future it may be the only way our kind of life can survive the rigours of this universe long term.

Could be a bad thing though if cyborg heaven turned into cyborg hell ..

anyway a fantastic invention .. and helpful to many hopefully!

[url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19667-electronic-implant-allows-the-blind-to-see.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news]www.newscientist.com[/ url]
(visit the link for the full news article)

That's interesting, wonder what else they have in the making that we don't know about. Now they just need to make a completely robotic body for paralized people, just add brain.

I know they've been testing this tech for a long time now, I remember at least 15 years ago seeing a documentary on a similar thing, but the resolution was vastly less, I think it was something like a grid of 8x8 dots, so basically they could detect something in front of them, lighted areas as opposed to darkened areas etc, so I'd hope it'd be a bit more advanced now - that he can actually read a word, that's pretty good! Still, basic shape recognition and large word reading, would be an amazing improvement for someone who's lost their sight.

I don't know how it would work with someone who's never had sight - not sure if it's even possible for them, considering the confusion they'd go through trying to decipher what they are perceiving.

Then again I might be confusing two different technologies - both for the same reasons but different causes?

Either way, good vid!!

This gives me hope for the future, you never know who will go blind from some reason or another, good to know that not all is doom and gloom.

This gives me hope for the future, you never know who will go blind from some reason or another, good to know that not all is doom and gloom.