Birth of the Bionic Eye

In 2012, electrodes will bring eyesight to the blind

 

Photo: David Yellen

SEEING THE SIGHTS Barbara Campbell's retinal prosthesis sends 30 images per second to her optic nerve.

When light hits Barbara Campbell's eyes, it triggers no response in her retinas, and no signals flash up her optic nerves to her brain. A genetic disease killed off her retinas' photoreceptor cells, leaving her completely blind by her 30s. But where her body failed her, technology rescued her. In 2009, at the age of 56, Campbell had an array of electrodes implanted in each eye, and she now makes her way through the world more confidently, aided by bionic vision.

Her sight isn't fully restored, not by a long shot, but the darkness has been replaced with rough shapes and patterns of light and dark. "The building where I live has a large light at the entranceway outside," says Campbell, who lives in New York City. "I hadn't been able to see that light in 16 years. Now, when I'm walking down the block, I can look up and identify the building."

 

Bionic Eye? Microchip Implants Restore Some Vision To Men Blinded By Retinitis Pigmentosa

Chris James and Robin Millar of the United Kingdom both lost their vision after birth because of a genetic condition known as retinitis pigmentosa, in which light-sensitive cells in the eye stop working. Now, surgeons have partially restored vision to both men with tiny electronic chips that promise to help the blind see the same way cochlear implants have helped the deaf hear. Teams of doctors at the Oxford Eye Hospital and King’s College Hospital in London embedded the small square chips—0.12 by 0.12 inches—in a thin sheet of tissue at the backs of the men’s eyes. As soon as they were switched on, the chips began performing the duties of defunct photoreceptors—also called rods and cones—converting light into electrical impulses that travel to the brain. A thin cable threaded beneath the skin connects the chip to a battery pack, which also sits under the skin near the ear.

The Bionic Eye

I've dreamed in colour for the first time in 20 years': Blind British man can see again after first successful implant of 'bionic' eye microchips.

• Microchips restore sight to people suffering retinitis pigmentosa - an incurable condition that leads to blindness
• Condition affects one in every 3,000-4,000 people
• Clinical trial with two sufferers 'exceeds expectations'
• Sufferers able to detect outlines of objects 'within days'
• Vision expected to improve further as 3mm chip 'beds in'

By Jenny Hope

It was the ‘magic moment’ that released Chris James from ten years of blindness.

Doctors switched on a microchip that had been inserted into the back of his eye three weeks earlier.

After a decade of darkness, there was a sudden explosion of bright light – like a flash bulb going off, he says.

The bionic eye that restores sight

London - It was the “magic moment” that released Chris James from ten years of blindness.

Doctors switched on a microchip that had been inserted into the back of his eye three weeks earlier. 

After a decade of darkness, there was a sudden explosion of bright light – like a flash bulb going off, he says. 

Now he is able to make out shapes and light. He hopes his sight – and the way his brain  interprets what the microchip is showing it – will carry on improving.

Bionic Eye - Helps Blind Man Can See

Bionic vision technology aims to restore the sense of vision to people living with blindness and low vision. Initially, our technology targets patients with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. With time and more research, it is possible that in future this technology can also help patients with other vision impairment conditions.

After being blind for over 20 years, a British man is regaining the gift of sight — thanks to a pioneering bionic eye implant.