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Bionic Eye Written

Geoffrey LAM MBBS FRANZCO discusses the possibility of a "bionic eye" to help restore sight to the blind. Current retinal prosthesis devices, like the Argus II, have up to 60 electrodes that allow some patients to detect motion and objects. Researchers are working to develop higher resolution implants with over 1,000 electrodes that could enable recognizing faces and reading large print. While challenges remain, bionic eyes may one day restore meaningful vision to many blind individuals.

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60 views

Bionic Eye Written

Geoffrey LAM MBBS FRANZCO discusses the possibility of a "bionic eye" to help restore sight to the blind. Current retinal prosthesis devices, like the Argus II, have up to 60 electrodes that allow some patients to detect motion and objects. Researchers are working to develop higher resolution implants with over 1,000 electrodes that could enable recognizing faces and reading large print. While challenges remain, bionic eyes may one day restore meaningful vision to many blind individuals.

Uploaded by

Dien Doan Quang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Giving sight to the Blind

The Bionic Eye



Fact or Myth?

Geoffrey LAM MBBS FRANZCO

In other words
Can we design an eye implant
that can make a blind person
see again?
What is a Bionic Eye?
An electronic device which
gives eye sight to the blind,
by converting the visual
scene, like a camera, into
some form of electric
signals, which will then
stimulate the visual system
to give vision.
Geoffrey LAM MBBS FRANZCO
Clinical Associate Professor
School of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
University of Western Australia

Giving sight to the blind

40 million blind people in the world
Approximately half a million in Vietnam
Giving sight to the blind
Giving sight to the blind
Can we make the blind see?
J esus touched
their (blind)
eyes.
Immediately
they regained
their sight
Matt 20:34
EYE TRANSPLANT?
Is it possible?
If you cannot connect up the optic nerve fibres
correctly one by one, then you cannot put the
image back together in the correct order!
THE NON-BIONIC EYE
A non-electronic device to help to
see better
Implantable Miniature Telescope (IMT)
Enlarges images 2.2 or 3 times

Why is it called
Bionic Eye?
How the idea came about
Foersters experiment
1929, discovered
that stimulating
the occipital pole
with electricity, a
blind person can
see a phosphene
(a bright spark of
light)
Foersters experiment (1929)
By giving appropriate
radio signals, the
patient experience
sensations of light
('phosphenes').


Retinal stimulation
Graham Tassicker (1956) inserted a light
sensitive photocell (like a solar battery) behind
the retina in a blind patient and elicited
phosphene
Where do we stimulate the visual
system to get vision?
The retina
The optic nerve, optic tract
The visual cortex
Bionic Eye
An electronic implant in the eye
Aim for
bionic eyes
Able to see at least to count fingers
And eventually later, maybe ability to
recognize the letters of the alphabet
Able to walk around obstacles
Current trial patients
Age related macular degeneration
Previously seeing patients, now blind with loss of retinal
photo-receptors, but intact neuro-retina

Retinitis pigmentosa
Current BIONIC EYES
(retinal prosthesis
or artificial retina)
Retina implants - 4 components
1. Camera - capture image
2. Computer chip to change image to
electrical signal
3. Retinal implant - stimulate the retinal cells
4. Intact optic nerve to send signals to visual
cortex in brain
Where to put the retinal implant
2 locations
1. Retina surface (epi-
retina)
2. Inside retina (sub-
retinal)
Retinal surface implants
=Epi-Retinal implants
Argus I (2002)
Doheny Institute
16 electrodes
250x500
micrometers

Argus I
16 ELECTRODES
Argus II
60 electrodes
Improve motion detection
Some improvement in mobility
Recognise common household objects
Subretinal prostheses
Between bipolar cell layer and RPE
Epiretinal vs subretinal implants
Epiretinal-retinal
surface
Surgically easier
large vitreous space to
house and as heat sink
Upgrade easily

Disadvantage
Stimulate ganglion cells,
so no processing by eye

Epiretinal vs subretinal implants
Subretinal
Some processing by bipolar and amacrine cells
Can shape the retinal response

Disadvantage
Tight space
Heat issue
More difficult to implant
Self powered retinal implant
Self-power lasts forever
Low efficiency, low output voltage
Needs multiple diodes to elicit visible phosphene
Reduced sharpness
Investigating group bankrupted
The Australian Story

Australian Federation Government awarded a
total of A$50m for bionic eye projects

Device 1: Wide View Device
98 electrodes
implanted in the suprachoroidal space
Aim: to provide patients the ability to move
around large objects
Device 2: High-acuity device
over one thousand electrodes
Aim: to recognise faces and read large print
first tests with patients in 2014
Image Resolution
BUT

Each stimulus is only
perceived as a white
light
No colour
No grey scale
High acuity devices
(>1000 electrodes)
Other areas of stimulation
Non- retinal implants
Optic nerve/tract stimulation

Optic nerve/tract stimulation

Cortical stimulator
Difficulties
Intra-cranial surgery
Power supply of the electronics
Do not understand how the stimulator and
neurons communicate at this stage
Do not know what to do to get images other
than spark of light at the moment

Etc.,etc.,etc.,..
Children?
Deprived
By depriving kittens
from using one eye,
they showed that these
kittens did not develop
areas in the primary
visual cortex serving
vision for the deprived
eye.

In summary
We are still years away from a truly functional
bionic eye, however, one day, we shall give sight
to the blind.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your
eyes are good, your whole body will be full
of light.

Matthew 6:22


The End

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