image courtesy shawn kelly

researchers at MIT are currently working on a retinal implant that could help blind people regain much
of their vision. the implant is designed to work on people suffering from age-related macular degeneration
and retinitis pigmentosa, two of the leading causes of blindness. the user would wear eyeglasses with an
embedded camera to capture data. the camera would transmit the information to a chip implanted at the
side of the eyeball which would process the data and send it to electrodes implanted below the retina.
these electrodes would electrically stimulate the nerve cells, taking over the function of lost retinal cells.
the system wouldn't restore normal vision but it could help blind people more easily navigate their
environment and possibly recognize faces. the researchers hope to test the implant in blind patients in
the next three years to see if the prototype proves effective.

read more
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/microchip-blind-092309.html


image courtesy shawn kelly


image courtesy shawn kelly