Saturday, June 02, 2012

Light-powered bionic eye invented to help restore sight

A retinal implant - or bionic eye - which is powered by light has been invented by scientists at Stanford University in California.
(..)
A pair of glasses fitted with a video camera records what is happening before a patient's eyes and fires beams of near infrared light on to the retinal chip.
This creates an electrical signal which is passed on to nerves.
Natural light is 1,000 times too weak to power the implant.
The researchers said: "Because the photovoltaic implant is thin and wireless, the surgical procedure is much simpler than in other retinal prosthetic approaches.
"Such a fully integrated wireless implant promises the restoration of useful vision to patients blinded by degenerative retinal diseases."
The implant has not been tested in people, but has been shown to work in rats.
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