Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that-give\ s-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Hmmm. I must admit, having been sighted for the first 33 years of my life, having sight restored, even if not perfect, is an alluring thought. Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that-give\ s-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Dave, I agree with you. To quote Jefferson, “a half of loaf of bread is better than no bread at all.” Danny “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Psalms 39:4 From: blind-diabetics [mailto:blind-diabetics ] On Behalf Of dave Bond Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 9:45 PM To: blind-diabetics Subject: Re: Bionic Eye Hmmm. I must admit, having been sighted for the first 33 years of my life, having sight restored, even if not perfect, is an alluring thought. Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. From: " Tuvix " <tuvix@... <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that- gives-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Yep, but the problem is, once we get that half a loaf, we want the other half! Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. From: " Tuvix " <tuvix@... <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that- gives-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 Hi Dave, I can’t remember exactly who said it but it went something like this: Tyranny is endurable until it is partially lifted then no part of tyranny is acceptable. Perhaps it was Ben lin. Cy From: blind-diabetics [mailto:blind-diabetics ] On Behalf Of dave Bond Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 5:59 AM To: blind-diabetics Subject: Re: Bionic Eye Yep, but the problem is, once we get that half a loaf, we want the other half! Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. From: " Tuvix " <tuvix@... <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that- gives-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 True, but the key is to remember that happiness is not getting what you want but enjoying what you have. “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Psalms 39:4 From: blind-diabetics [mailto:blind-diabetics ] On Behalf Of dave Bond Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:59 AM To: blind-diabetics Subject: Re: Bionic Eye Yep, but the problem is, once we get that half a loaf, we want the other half! Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. From: " Tuvix " <tuvix@... <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that- gives-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 2012 Report Share Posted July 26, 2012 No doubt about it. It doesn't change the fact however, since our human nature still likes to rear its ugly head at times! Dave ~~ Available now! -- A Time To Build -- From Desert Breeze Publishing ~~ Marshall is stunned when Hallie Grover returns to town, thirteen years after he committed perhaps the biggest mistake of his life. Or was it? While recognizes Hallie, she doesn't recognize him. never gave God much thought, until Hallie came back into his life. Can a tainted past become a hopeful future? Can two people build on patience, and love? Visit: http://www.authordavidbond.com Other available books: The Attaché -- January, 2012 Upcoming books: SWEET MUSIC -- October, 2012 A TIME TO HEAL -- February, 2013 OUT OF THE DESERT -- July, 2013 A TIME TO DANCE -- November, 2013 Bionic Eye Greetings, Saw this on another group and as we have a good many here suffering what might be corrective visual problems, thought this could be of especial interest, just hope development continues. I know only what is in this post. From: " Tuvix " <tuvix@... <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> <mailto:tuvix%40neo.rr.com> > Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 22:24:47 -0400 The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind. By Sebastian on July 17, 2012. After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market - first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients - though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases. The first of these implants, Argus II developed by Second Sight, is already available in Europe. For around $115,000, you get a 4-hour operation to install an antenna behind your eye, and a special pair of camera-equipped glasses that send signals to the antenna. The antenna is wired into your retina with around 60 electrodes, creating the equivalent of a 60-pixel display for your brain to interpret. The first users of the Argus II bionic eye report that they can see rough shapes and track the movement of objects, and slowly read large writing. The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less - around the $60,000 mark - and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic. Basically, with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, the light-sensitive rods and cones in your retina stop working. The Bio-Retina plops a 24×24-resolution (576-pixel!) sensor right on top of your damaged retina, and 576 electrodes on the back of the sensor implant themselves into the optic nerve. An embedded image processor converts the data from each of the pixels into electrical pulses that are coded in such a way that the brain can perceive different levels of grayscale. The best bit, though, is how the sensor is powered. The Bio-Retina system comes with a standard pair of corrective lenses that are modified so that they can fire a near-infrared laser beam through your iris to the sensor at the back of your eye. On the sensor there is a photovoltaic cell that produces up to three milliwatts - not a lot, but more than enough. The infrared laser is invisible and harmless. To see the Bio-Retina system in action, watch the demo video embedded below. Human trials of Bio-Retina are slated to begin in 2013 - but like Second Sight, US approval could be a long time coming. It's easy enough to hop on a plane and visit one of the European clinics offering bionic eye implants, though. Moving forward, multiple research groups are working on bionic eyes with even more electrodes, and thus higher resolution, but there doesn't seem to be any progress on sensors or encoder chips that can create a color image. A lot of work is being done on understanding how the retina, optic nerve, and brain process and perceive images - so who knows what the future might hold. Source URL: http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/132918-the-laser-powered-bionic-eye-that- gives-576-pixel-grayscale-vision-to-the-blind Colin , living near Southampton in Southern England, draws your attention to the up-and-coming 2012 Olympics on the official starting day of which is his birthday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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