Artificial Retinas Bring Vision Back To The Blind 177
Patters writes "Researchers from the University of California and the Doheny Eye Institute have successfully implanted a tiny electronic eye implant with a video camera mounted on a pair of sunglasses into 6 patients, allowing them to detect light and motion. The implant is a 4-by-4 grid of electrodes which connects to damaged photoreceptors (rods and cones) on the patient's retina. It works by stimulating the photoreceptors, transmitting signals through the optic nerve to the brain. The implant only works on patients with degenerated rods and cones, and is named after Argus, the Greek god which had 100 eyes. If the implants continue to be a success, the artificial retinas could be available to the public within the next 3 years."
Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2, Insightful)
Granted, being able to focus on something 200 yards away the size of a needle would be awesome. But don't think this is a panacea for everyone.
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:5, Interesting)
The brain is a very amazing creation. However, it isn;t sitting around with 90% unused capacity as is the common old wives tail. Make vision better, something else must suffer.
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Now that would be cool! Figure that in it's first four 4 years, a newborn manages to _simultaneously_ develop fine motor skills, not only learn a language but learn the very concept of language, develop a intuitive understanding of the physics of the universe, learn how to make use of the veritable deluge of information coming through their senses, and begin to develop human social skills. It
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
You have made some incorrect assumptions about the construction of the eye. It is not a pinhole camera. Furthermore, there are two eyes, installed at slightly different angles. For example, I have 210 degrees of peripheral vision, measured at a vision lab. So that's only 150 degrees of blind spot
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2, Interesting)
> the human eye. It's where your nerves leave the eyeball.
*Those* blind spots are only actually blind spots as long as you keep your gaze focused in one spot without looking around -- which you generally don't do, except when you're very sleepy, drugged, or deliberatly focusing your vision on a particular thing that's stationary (and normally when you focus your vision on one thing, it's a thing in motion, so this doesn't come
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Now, getting 360 degree vision would require more than one lens to start with, so it's not really a viable option. Moreo
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:1, Insightful)
Artificial eyes that simply modify the incoming image might work (for example you could represent light outside of the visible spectrum by a distinctive color).
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:4, Informative)
No, you'd never have to buy new ones: newborns arrive with eyeballs the same size as an adult. That's why children seem to have such large eyes: their skull is smaller than an adult, but they have the same size eyes. The only large-scale change to your eyes over the years is a slight shift in flexibility of different tissues (resulting in various vision issues), excluding serious degenerative issues.
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:5, Funny)
You mean it's an unworkable fantasy dreamed up by conservatives who smoke pot?
Sounds about right to me.
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:5, Insightful)
Libertarian: I think people ought to be able to do anything with their personal lives, just as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.
Republican: OMG?! What if they smoke drugs and make gay-like?
Libertarian: Companies are just lots of people. So they ought to be able to do just about anything that doesn't hurt anyone else.
Democrat: OMG?! They'll enslave us all!!!!! (ignoring the important clause about do no evil)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
"... just as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else."
That restriction prohibits a hell of a lot of things, or at least produces huge grey areas. For example, smoking just about anything might hurt someone else unless the fumes are completely contained (practically impossible). So does libertarianism allow smoking?
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
Re:Obvious transhuman consequences left out (Score:2)
4 x 4? (Score:5, Funny)
I am not impressed. (Score:2)
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:1, Insightful)
It is very rare to miss something you have, until you lose it. Of course they will most likely improve this to allow people to see better resolutions, but you have to start from somewhere. What was the resolution for your first monitor and what is it now?
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:1)
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:2)
So? It's better than nothing...take hearing: (Score:5, Insightful)
As with all technologies, you'd expect the resolution to improve over time - in the case of cochlear implants, sound quality has improved with increased numbers of electrodes being used in the cochlear, and the size of speech processors has been reduced to the point where they now look like typical hearing aids.
However, I'd imagine surgery wise, although it can be extremely complicated to insert a cochlear implant (especially if the cochlear itself is deformed), it's a hell of a lot easier to upgrade / repair a damaged implant than it would be to upgrade / repair a retinal implant.
Re:So? It's better than nothing...take hearing: (Score:2)
Re:So? It's better than nothing...take hearing: (Score:2)
Re:So? It's better than nothing...take hearing: (Score:2)
Re:So? It's better than nothing...take hearing: (Score:2)
Humayun said he hopes to begin testing a 60-electrode model of the Argus by late 2005.
Humayun said the Argus 60's microchip will be one-quarter the size of the current model, and should offer a significant improvement.
"The brain has hundreds of millions of photodetectors, and to use only 16 of them really speaks volumes for the brain's ability to use this artificial visual input and make sense out of it," Humayun said. "Another pixel means higher resolution. Our models show that patients could read o
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:2)
I went to college and grad school with the President and CEO of Second Sight, and have spoken with him many times about his company and products. I currently work in implantable technology fields as well, although not eye-related work.
Their approach is good and appropriate. To a man with no sight, even one electrode that works well is a godsend. Until you have the devices implanted an
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:2)
Re:I am not impressed. (Score:2)
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2)
Issue two might be even bigger. I am no neuroscientist, but I bet the time it takes the brain to 'learn' the signal is a steeply positive function of resolution.
Re:4 x 4? (Score:1)
If this could fix it (which it probably won't), I'd take out some loans by now.
Re:4 x 4? (Score:1)
I would also like the camera to be equipped with infrared and a thermal imaging device.
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2)
Re:4 x 4? (Score:1)
However, our brain is an amazing signal processor. Our eyes constantly move and refocus, taking in different images that the visual cortex combines into a single detailed three-dimensional field of vision.
I've been blind in my left eye since birth. Yet I can still percieve three dimensions and determine depth and distance perfectly well. The only things th
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2)
There's been research with directly stimulating either the visual cortex or optic nerves, but it hasn't been as successful yet. Hopefully more progress will be made over time. Some links:
http://cortivis.umh.es/overview.htm [cortivis.umh.es]
http://www.md.ucl.ac.be/gren/mivipresult.html [ucl.ac.be]
Re:4 x 4? (Score:3, Interesting)
After about 20 secon
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2)
Surely with electronics in his eyes he should be careful. It would be terrible if he short-circuited his artificial retina.
Re:4 x 4? (Score:2)
remember everyone (Score:5, Insightful)
people who have lost eyes, or through macular degeneration, will be able to regain some of their lost visual freedom.
excellent work scientists, keep it up.
Re:remember everyone (Score:1)
Re:remember everyone (Score:5, Interesting)
There was also a guy in a 3rd world country who had cataracts since he was born. Doctors managed to help him see again, but he could only see colours, but not shapes. He still had to touch the object to get the idea of its shape.
There are so many aspects of vision that we have to learn in order to avoid becoming confused: shadows, reflections, texture, shape from shadow, perspective, not forgetting spacial relationships (partially obscured, behind, inside).
Re:remember everyone (Score:2)
It is not recommended, but not because you loose perspective or distance, but because your will have poorer coordination between arms and legs.
Re:remember everyone (Score:2)
Not if the optic nerve has been severed and they have a prosthetic eye. The retina must still be in place as well.
There is almost no point in having people who have lost one eye do this anyways. Living with one eye is not that bad.
Macular degeneration is where this really counts.
Re:remember everyone (Score:5, Informative)
So there is no way that those born without vision will ever attain what we consider normal vision. That having been said, it may be possible that they can achieve some rudimentary visual capabilities. For instance, they may learn to use the stimulus from a 4X4 grid in order to help them know when objects are approaching, or to better interpret their other senses. It isn't much, but for someone who has been blind their whole life, even some vague visual information (like knowing how bright their surroundings are!) may be helpful. Obviously more research is necessary in order to know if even these limited abilities can be learned later in life.
Re:remember everyone (Score:2)
One of the disadvantages of the whole situation is that one of my retinas is slightly underdeveloped, and that much I believe is not correctable through tr
Re:remember everyone (Score:2, Funny)
people blind from birth will not be able to use this to see. Their brains havn't even developed the "code" to interpret the optic nerve signals.
Hopefully scientists will be able to find a way of stimulating the areas of the brain to develop this "code".
Then the people blind from birth will be able to sing I can see clearly now my brain has grown.
SCNR.
Re:remember everyone (Score:2)
Re:remember everyone (Score:5, Interesting)
It is almost certain that the excessive culling of synapses in the visual centers of the brain that results from not having any visual stimulus during the first two years of life is irreversible. Possibly the brain could be stimulated to produce new synapses in those areas, but it is likely that the process would cause far more harm than good.
Re:remember everyone (Score:2)
Re:remember everyone (Score:4, Informative)
As for the results that Humayan et al are showing to great effect, there are major problems aside from the engineering ones. First off, part of my PhD dissertation [utah.edu] was on just this problem of retinal degeneration. It turns out that the implants they are designing are not taking into account some of the most basic issues of biology. Notably that any time you deafferent a CNS system, it remodels. They will have to deal with remodeling and continuously degenerating retina. In order for implants like this to work, we need to arrest retinal remodeling or take advantage of it to enable wiring into bionic or artificial biological circuits.
From an engineering standpoint, traditional electrode grids like this will end up with other problems. Notably, the issue of heating. You don't want to cook your retinas, so the need for very small currents with microelectrodes are what will be necessary. I show one such bionic implant on my blog here [utah.edu].
...not totally true (Score:5, Interesting)
Having some experience with cochlear implants, I can tell you children who are born completely deaf - ie, have never heard sound in their life - often adapt (over time) to cochlear implants.
However, most adults cannot do this - the brain of an infant obviously is under constant development, and so can learn how to "hear" far more easily than a totally deaf adult.
Re:...not totally true (Score:2, Interesting)
But adults are a completely different story. They might be able to hear, but they might not be able to "learn" sound discrimination. An example of this is being able to tell the difference between low frequency and high frequency sounds necessary for speech discrimination. Of course, I was implanted early so I just ingrained that information naturally. An adult-implanted person will
Does it use Linux? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Does it use Linux? (Score:1)
May I suggest attempting to poke your eye in instead?
Star Trek? (Score:2)
Re:Star Trek? (Score:1)
Whenever I see Levar Burton (Geordi) on any tv show/movie, i always think he looks strange, because i can see his eyes.
Androk
Not University of California (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Not University of California (Score:2)
"Cal" is a name given to UC Berkeley because it was the first university in California (1868). A person listing the UC's would say "UCSB, UCLA, UCSC, Cal, UCSD..."
University of Southern California was founded 12 years after UC Berkeley. Other than being in the same conference (Pac10), the schools have no affiliation with each other. USC is a private school. Cal is publ
Re:Not University of California (Score:2)
Actually, lots would say "Santa Barbara, UCLA, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, San Diego..." chopping off the "UC" part except for UCLA.
And you left off Irvine, San Francisco, Riverside, and Davis. Bonus points for Merced.
Correction: the name of the University is wrong! (Score:1)
This is incredible but.... (Score:1)
oh wonderful (Score:1)
Re:oh wonderful (Score:1)
Re:oh wonderful (Score:2)
It would be better to grow new ones... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:It would be better to grow new ones... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's hard enough to grow some kinds of human cells, and growing them in an orderly fashion to get the exactness necessary for something like normal vision, is very far away right now. I think it's quite likely that an artificial implant with a good interface will be a good-enough, or even better-than-original solution.
Re:It would be better to grow new ones... (Score:2)
Teleportation, however, is much much MUCH further down the pipeline.
Re:It would be better to grow new ones... (Score:2)
And they call me ... (Score:1)
Alternatives... (Score:3, Interesting)
But even this was based on previous research - I remember about similar experiments done in the late 1980s, albeit on a far lower resolution and using a extremely pad of electrodes mounted on the chest.
No news here. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No news here. (Score:1)
I can understand your problem with this article if it were a dupe from 2000, but it's not. It's new to quite a few people.
Re:No news here. (Score:2)
not to be argumentative, you could say that for just about any story though.
Re:No news here. (Score:2)
I'm skeptical. (Score:1)
Re:I'm skeptical. (Score:1)
Re:I'm skeptical. (Score:1)
needed: elastomeric conductors & semiconductor (Score:2)
Finding a new elastomeric polymer with conductive/semi-conductive properties (think stretchy OLED polymers) would help make this happen. Or perhaps blen
USC isn't part of UC ... (Score:2)
Other efforts (Score:1)
Silicon Retinal Impants [slashdot.org]
Optobionics [slashdot.org]: surgically implanted an artificial retina into three patients who are blind from retinitis pigmentosa.
Boston Retinal Implant Project [slashdot.org]
silicon-based bionic retinas [slashdot.org] and bionic eyes (Australia) [slashdot.org]
4mm microchip is attached to a type of silicone called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) [slashdot.org]
Solar implan [slashdot.org]
Can you imagine being there... (Score:3, Insightful)
THIS is the true value of science.
Re:Can you imagine being there... (Score:2)
AGAIN!!! (Score:3, Informative)
But rarely in real life...
Anyone else thinking what you could do with this?? (Score:4, Interesting)
- A jack that accepts video signal from a computer for work or GAMING
- Backward or otherwise mounted cameras at all times giving "rear view" (eyes in the back of your head!) appearing off to the side of the main image
- Your personal HUD! News, stock ticker, email, personal alerts and reminders, responding to voice activated commands
- Night vision or infrared
- Television receiver with subtitles
- Zooming lenses
Okay, none of that will be helpful with 4x4 res, but think of the possibilities for future use!
Then again, think of the pranks you could pull on someone by splicing it.
Re:Anyone else thinking what you could do with thi (Score:2)
Re:Anyone else thinking what you could do with thi (Score:2)
It's certainly an interesting concept, but I think were still a good 10-15 years off from getting to that point. Also, the pros
OMGPWNT (Score:1)
Re:OMGPWNT (Score:2)
Or they could just go ahead and kick mine now. Sight would be an unneeded advantage.
What is the resolution of the human eye? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:What is the resolution of the human eye? (Score:4, Informative)
Argus NOT a Greek God (Score:4, Informative)
He did have 100 eyes though. "He was thus a very effective watchman, as only a few of the eyes would sleep at a time; there were always eyes still awake.", as the Wikipedia notes [wikipedia.org]
Scientific American Frontiers on PBS (Score:3, Informative)
In Omni Magazine? (Score:2)
Re:Wee (Score:5, Funny)
Bill
Re:Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these (Score:2)
panning your head (Score:5, Interesting)
the question is whether your brain is up to of synthesizing a image from a pan and deconvolving the large pixels down to high resolution. There's some evidence it might be able to synthesize the image from the pan since it already does that for your blind spot. And the ganglia in the eyeball do some deconvolution already so that might be possible too.
I guess we'll find out when the blind people tell us.