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Bionic eyes implanted in blind patients

telegraph.co.uk — Bionic eyes have been implanted in British patients for the first time offering hope to hundreds of thousands of blind people.

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  • hugepedlar, on 04/22/2008, -1/+29I'm looking forward to the day when I get a retinal HUD installed.
    • EpicSelekta, on 04/22/2008, -1/+8With a targeting system.
      • ZenMojo, on 04/22/2008, -0/+4And a GPS with a giant orange arrow so I don't wander off into stupid side quests or areas of the city that weren't coded for.
    • StephenCIreland, on 04/22/2008, -1/+8"billy, what are you watching, that better not be porn hooked up to your video input"
      • schizogony, on 04/22/2008, -0/+8No, mom, just my health, ammo and current location on the map.
  • Soniti, on 04/22/2008, -8/+3MAXIMUM ARMOR
  • Jovensdesciple, on 04/22/2008, -16/+1That's nothing compared to my bionic balls... If God wanted blind people to see they would be seeing without some dead assholes eyes.
    • Soniti, on 04/22/2008, -1/+8If God wanted you to *****, you would be ***** without some dead ***** balls.
      • Jovensdesciple, on 04/22/2008, -12/+1I was born with bionic balls, go ahead and ask your mother... and grandmother... and sister... and daughter... and auntie... and girlfriend... and of course, your gay lovers sister.
    • kewbert, on 04/22/2008, -0/+11It's not a transplant, you nimrod.
    • Tahiri, on 04/22/2008, -2/+2If God had wanted them to stay blind, she wouldn't have given us free will and the intelligence to figure out how to do this.

      I'm pretty sure any God would be disgusted by your desire to keep them blind
  • schizogony, on 04/22/2008, -1/+16Geordi LaForge'd
    • charlietuna, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Any trekkies recall the earliest episodes of TNG, where Geordi was asked by the Doctor about the intense pain that his visor caused? His reply was that the only alternative was pain supressing drungs, and he didn't use drugs. It was a blatant play to the anti drug campaign at the time.
      • schizogony, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1LaForge was always a man of valor.
  • nickcozy, on 04/22/2008, -7/+2Like Deus ex,I love to have a bionic penis.
  • EpicSelekta, on 04/22/2008, -2/+27The cool thing about this is that, although the article doesn't say it, this can obviously be altered and/or reprogrammed to see non-visible forms of light (x-rays, etc) and transpose them to visible wavelengths.

    Just imagine how easy it will be to find good radio reception.
    • arcooke, on 04/22/2008, -10/+3And you know this how?
      • EpicSelekta, on 04/22/2008, -2/+8Because we already have all the software and hardware to do this. Maybe seeing radio waves is in the future, but infrared and ultraviolet are current certainties.
      • Tahiri, on 04/22/2008, -2/+6He knows basic logic?
      • arcooke, on 04/22/2008, -2/+3Oh geez.. here come the all-knowing diggers. The reason I said that is that he claims to know that the camera itself can be altered/reprogrammed to see non-visible light. NOT ALL CAMERAS CAN DO THIS. This particular camera is tiny.. which makes it even more unlikely to have such capabilities. It's very likely that this was a specially designed camera.. for all we know it could use entirely different technology than normal cameras. The article doesn't even mention if the camera is black and white or color (which is also something we have the ability to do, EpicSelekta).

        Go ahead and keep burying me and digging up the guy making completely uneducated assumptions.
        • EpicSelekta, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1The camera itself isn't the important part, it's the hookup to the brain. You can always just switch out the camera, genius. That's old tech.
    • GreatSunJester, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2Wardriving gets a new "look"!
  • wiresjr, on 04/22/2008, -1/+16...and if you want to see what's behind you, just wear 'em backwards!
    Although the extreme vertigo when you drop them for the first time won't be fun.
  • luckyguy2000, on 04/22/2008, -2/+10damn, who else expected a real bionic eyeball instead of a camera mounted on glasses and a cable to the optic nerve?

    i feel cheated.
    • Tahiri, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3Give it time
    • cawpin, on 04/22/2008, -1/+3Yeah, buried for that reason. My wife's biological dad (Yes, there is a distinction) has been working on implantable bionic eyes for the last twenty years. They're supposedly getting close and that's what I was expecting to see.
  • clumsyjim, on 04/22/2008, -0/+7I have retinitis pigmentosa myself & whilst this is a step in the right direction the resolution for myself & many V.I. people I know would be a downgrade. I'm banking on stem cell therapy personally.
  • caroline1985, on 04/22/2008, -3/+16It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some of the comments are that appear on here.
    • Tulle, on 04/22/2008, -2/+13HEY EVERYONE BODY! OVER HERE! I THINK I FOUND A GIRL ON THE INTERNET!
      • wiredDeath, on 04/22/2008, -5/+4Pics or it didnt happen :)
        • Viend, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1I saw a documentary about this last week on NatGeo or Discovery Channel. I can't remember what the show was though.
      • luckyguy2000, on 04/22/2008, -3/+2fake. everyone knows that there are no girls on the internet.
    • luckyguy2000, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2lol, seriously, i think shes right. most ppl doesnt even regocnize that the "bionic eyes" here just give another light/shadow experience instead of "seeing". its still better than nothing.
  • whoreable, on 04/22/2008, -4/+6Go go gadget eyes!
    • Tahiri, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1I came here expecting certain jokes (ie: A reference to Geordi LaForge) You sir get extra creativity points in the form of a digg
  • mk2cav, on 04/22/2008, -2/+2Finlay, you can have eyes in the back of your head.
  • vestlandsfanden, on 04/22/2008, -4/+0Screw glasses! Third eye!
  • boubou64, on 04/22/2008, -2/+3Is this story available in french? my mother has got retinitis pigmentosis
    • clumsyjim, on 04/22/2008, -5/+2My french is appalling but here's a Babel fish translation.
      Yeux de Bionic implantés dans les patients aveugles Des yeux de Bionic ont été implantés dans les patients britanniques offrant pour la première fois l'espoir aux centaines de milliers de personnes aveugle. La soeur affectueuse a eu la chirurgie pour sauver son frère que les victimes de migraine ont une peau plus sensible deux les patients aveugles ont subi le procédé, que les chirurgiens disent que 'est droite hors de la science-fiction ', à l'hôpital d'oeil de Moorfields à Londres centrale la semaine dernière et seraient "faisante bien". Les chirurgiens ont implanté un dispositif électronique dans le dos de l'oeil pour permettre aux patients de distinguer des objets comme images composées des taches de la lumière. Les travaux de dispositif avec un appareil-photo minuscule ont monté dans une paire de verres qui transmet un signal sans fil par l'intermédiaire d'un petit processeur sur une ceinture dans un récepteur et un panneau des électrodes placées dans le dos de l'oeil. Trois patients supplémentaires auront l'opération de quatre heures en tant qu'élément d'une épreuve internationale avant que la technique soit évaluée et prolongée. Aux premiers patients qui sont dus complètement aveugle à un état hérité appelé Retinitis Pigmentosa sont traités mais par la suite elle pourrait être offerte aux milliers de patients pendant que les dispositifs se perfectionnent. des opérations d'advertisementThe ont été effectuées par da Cruz, un chirurgien rétinien de M. Lyndon de conseiller chez Moorfields. Il a dit : "conceptuellement il pourrait être employé pour n'importe qui avec la vision extrêmement faible mais un nerf optique physiquement intact. La sorte de vision que nous obtenons n'est pas bonne qualité mais car la chose va mieux elle s'ouvrira à de plus en plus personnes." Des épreuves plus tôt en Amérique ont montré que les patients peuvent voir la lumière, les formes et le mouvement. Elles pouvaient diriger sans leur bâton ou le chien de guide et distinguer les objets sur une table suggérant le dispositif pourrait aider les personnes aveugles à mener les vies indépendantes. M. da Cruz dit cette dernière épreuve aidera à évaluer si la technique reconstitue assez de vision pour que les patients seul se fondent sur elle dans le long terme. Le deuxième la technologie rétinienne d'implant d'Argus II de la vue fonctionne à côté d'imiter la capacité normale de l'oeil d'absorber la lumière et de la transformer en image. Un signal sans fil est transmis de l'appareil-photo dans les verres à un petit dispositif de traitement, la taille d'un baladeur qui peut être porté sur une ceinture. Il est alors envoyé à un récepteur électronique ultra mince, et au panneau d'électrode qui est implanté dans l'oeil et fixé à la rétine. Les électrodes stimulent les nerfs rétiniens restants permettant à un signal d'être passé le long du nerf optique au cerveau. Le cerveau perçoit des modèles des taches lumineuses et foncées correspondant à quelles électrodes sont stimulées. M. da Cruz a dit que la technologie était extrêmement passionnante et est une manière complètement nouvelle de traiter des états d'oeil. Il a dit : "nous avons été fascinés avec l'idée de combiner l'électronique et le corps humain depuis l'homme de Bionic dans les années 70. Ceci le montre que pouvez et êtes fait." Trois autres hôpitaux en Europe participent à l'épreuve et vers la fin des chirurgiens d'année à l'espoir de Moorfields pour avoir traité dix patients. Les dispositifs sont faits par une compagnie appelée en second lieu la vue près de Los Angeles en Californie, qui a été fondée en 1998 pour aider à trouver des traitements pour des patients dans Retinitis Pigmentosa, dans lequel la vision détériore graduellement au cours des années, et conditions semblables. Plus de deux millions de personnes au R-U ayez la perte significative de vue avec plus de 360.000 enregistrés comme abat-jour ou partiellement aperçus, selon l'institut national royal des personnes aveugles (RNIB). Barbara McLauglan, directeur de campagne de santé d'oeil à l'institut national royal pour le dit aveugle : "nous félicitons beaucoup le progrès qui est accompli avec ce type de technologie. Tandis que 50 pour cent de perte de vue peuvent être empêchés, nous ne devons pas oublier qu'il y a des conditions qui ne peuvent pas être traitées actuellement comme le pigmentosa macular relatif à l'âge sec de dégénération et de retinitis. "un oeil bionic amélioré qui permet aux personnes aveugles de voir plus de leurs environnements améliorera leur mobilité et qualité de la vie. RNIB continuera à surveiller le progrès dans ce secteur avec le grand intérêt au cours des années à venir."
    • Tahiri, on 04/22/2008, -4/+3Correction, french is appalling. You obviously know english, why not translate for her?
      • DJDark, on 04/22/2008, -1/+2Maybe he has a limited knowledge of English nimrod, not everyone on the internet is from the US.
    • Vinny128128, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1but...
      if she has retinitis pigmentosis....
      >_>
  • jeremyduffy, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2It's a step in the right direction. I just hope they get the cybernetics all figured out by the time I'm old enough to need them.
  • WoundedCow, on 04/22/2008, -4/+1Who else thought of the pun: I can see how these would help a blind person?

    Who else wondered if you put them in your pockets, you could watch your own nut sack all day?

    And what if you gave them to your girlfriend to hold?
  • ceris, on 04/22/2008, -2/+5They can rebuild you. They can make you stronger. Dunnn de dunnn dunnn
  • irishpunk, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1This just makes me think of the last verse for Jonathan Coulton's song "The Future Soon."
  • leodavinci0, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Keep in mind that retinal prostheses tend to only provide as much as 16 pixels of vision, and it hasn't changed much in the last decade. And if you are very luck they will all continue to provide visual precepts for a couple years. To gain acceptable vision to navigate it is typically said you need 625 pixels, so there is a long way to go. Really this article isn't that special, Joe Rizzo in Boston implants these things on a regular basis, and has for years. Know also that those who have Diabetic Retinopathy are precluded from retinal implants since that disease indiscriminately destroys the whole retina.
    • RationalXubrnce, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1 I would rather have an external camera sensor that attached to my head running at a decent resolution.
  • TKOtheKDR, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0Jonathan Coulton and "Laura" approve.

    /preparing for the robot war
  • CuriousDan, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0Interesting if they could combine the glasses/eyes with bionic arms, then soldiers could have lock-ons on their enemies not to mention x-ray vision, laser sights etc.
  • martoq, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Awesome to hear some good...positive...tech news for a change.
  • repairman2003, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0I remember hearing about an eye implant about 10 years ago. I remember seeing a video of some guy who could distinguish between light and dark objects. He ended up driving a car around a parking lot or something.
  • verkon, on 04/22/2008, -0/+1Great plan just sprung into my mind. Hide the glasses in a locker room. Go figure out the rest.

    Well, it would require them to be completely wireless, which they are not, but if they we're, damn!
  • RationalXubrnce, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2 Once again an article on an eye camera doesn't answer the only question I had: What's the resolution?
    • leodavinci0, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2Not greater than 16 pixels most likely. Furthermore, regardless of the resolution, several of the electrodes that produce the visual precepts will tend not to function properly in any implanted retinal prosthesis. Any retinal prosthesis manufacturer that states their prosthesis uses a greater amount is not informing you that the pixels don't all function. And even if they do, typically when a higher resolution prosthesis is attempted the pixels merge into one visual precept (they're called phosphenes actually). The technology doesn't exist yet to increase the resolution of these things since it's still unknown what is happening in the retina when you stimulate it electrically.
    • Robotronik, on 04/22/2008, -0/+210 across x 6 down

      You can increase the resolution by "sweeping" your eyes (the camera) around. Many people with limited vision seem to have "twitchy" eyes because they do this naturally to gain full perspective.

      +1 for leodavinchi0. He has got it right.
  • iguanapunk, on 04/22/2008, -1/+1This is great and all, but how are the blind supposed to read about this new operation?
    • ManyAsOne, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1The same way they read about anything else- in Braille if it's in print, or with screenreader programs like JAWS if it's online.
  • Space579, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0Shine jobs are next!!
  •  

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