Researchers at MIT, together with collaborators, have developed a prototype retinal implant for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. The implant would help restore some vision by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain. Patients who receive the implant would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. The glasses also contain a coil that wirelessly transmits power to receiving coils surrounding the eyeball. When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of retina. The chip would not restore normal vision, but could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk. "Anything that could help them see a little better and let them identify objects and move around a room would be an enormous help," said Dr. Shawn Kelly, a member of the research team. The researchers hope to start testing the prototype in blind patients within the next three years, after some safety refinements are made. The work was published in the October issue of the IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. [Press release]
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