Recently, the BBC broadcast a news of a 49-year-old blind-eyed mother RhianLewis correctly reading the clock through her right eye. Lewis's excitement is understandable because she is the first patient in the UK to receive the world's most advanced bionic eye implants. This technique used to exist only in books and is now a reality.
At about five years of age, Lewis was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that damages light-detecting cells (ie, photodetectors) on the retina, making it unable to absorb and process incident light. Since then, her right eye has been completely blind, and the vision of the left eye has dropped to zero. Although this condition is almost incurable in traditional medicine, the brain circuits necessary for Lewis' optical nerve and vision are still not damaged. That is to say, the photodetector is the only part that needs to be replaced.
So what is the solution? A 3x3mm miniature retina implanted chip.
The chip was developed by the German engineering company Retina Implant AG. During a day-long operation, the chip was implanted behind the right eye of Lewis, which was performed at JohnRadcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Developed by Retina Implant AG, the chip contains 1600 electrodes, which is equivalent to less than one-hundredth of a megapixel. It captures incident light and activates nerve cells inside the retina. These nerve cells then send electrical signals through the optical nerves to the brain. At the same time, a small computer is implanted under the skin behind the ear, which is powered by a magnetic coil outside the skin. Although this technology has been greatly improved, the device is not perfect enough to obtain good vision.
When the implant is turned on, the patient receives a flash of light, and after a few weeks, the brain begins to perceive the flicker to form a meaningful shape. With wireless devices, Lewis can use the dial to modify sensitivity, contrast and frequency. The images she can see are seamlessly linked – the objects observed are full of graininess and only black and white, but the world has changed a lot for the blind. "Actually, in the past eight years, I have imagined my child in my heart. Now I feel very happy when I can place some things accurately, especially when I put a spoon or a fork on the table. Because I can do something accurately.†Lewis told the Guardian.
Bionic eye technology is not new, and this is by far the best.
In 2012, RobinMiller was one of the first patients to receive bionic eye implants. His bionic eye was implanted for only 18 months; however, Lewis' bionic eye implants can last for more than 5 years. Also in 2012, Dianne Ashworth of Australia also accepted retinal implantation, and his situation is the same as that of Lewis. At the time, the technology was arguably groundbreaking and contained 24 electrodes. The Argus II artificial retina, designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2013, is the first FDA-approved bionic eye in the field of medical visual prosthetics. Like the artificial retina accepted by Dianne Ashworth in Australia, the device contains only 20 electrodes and requires the patient to wear a sun visor like a sunglasses. The bionic eye developed by Lewis by TheRetina Implant AG is the second version of its development. This version contains more than 100 electrodes for better resolution, longer life and less energy consumption.
It is estimated that more than 285 million people worldwide suffer from similar illnesses and thus cannot see the world. There is no doubt that this technology will have a huge market, which may change the living conditions of a large number of patients. As the technology matures, these devices will also have better resolution, the wounds will become smaller, and they will last longer. Not only that, but the technology is also expected to become cheaper and more extensive.
What's more, for those patients who haven't seen their faces for years, it's no longer a dream to see it again, and it's all likely to happen in the near future.
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