In a study, Doctors from Moorfields Eye Hospital successfully implanted a microchip in a woman’s retina, restoring some vision to her blind eye. After having normal vision for most of her life, the 88-year-old suffered from dry age-related macular degeneration, causing her to lose sight in one eye.
What does the study hope to accomplish?
The study hopes to show that the implant can partially restore eyesight to people who suffer from geographic atrophy, a disease that currently has no cure. Geographic atrophy is an advanced type of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), in which retina cells waste away, resulting in a blind spot.
How does the implant work?
Surgeons from Moorfields Eye Hospital implanted the 2mm-wide microchip, which was developed by Pixium Vision in France, under the patient’s retina. The chip is a communication “liaison” between customized video glasses linked to a computer the patient wears like a fanny pack.
The camera in the glasses captures visual data, then sends it to the computer. The computer processes the video using artificial intelligence, then relays instructions back to the glasses, telling them where to focus.
After the camera focuses on the primary object, they send visual data — projected as an infrared beam — back through the eye to the chip, reports Science Focus.
At that point, the chip translates it into an electrical signal that travels to the patient’s brain via the retinal cells. The brain learns to interpret this electrical signal allowing the patient to see.
Does the implant work right away?
The microchip isn’t effective immediately. It takes up to six weeks and a post-surgery rehabilitation process before the patient can learn to use their newfound vision.
When will the implant be available?
The implant is being tested in clinical trials in Europe, but this is the first patient to receive it.
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