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Biotech Power

Nanobatteries Power Artificial Eyes 139

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the looking-into-the-future dept.
Roland Piquepaille writes "A new U.S. research center, the National Center for Design of Biomimetic Nanoconductors, has been opened to promote new ideas in the field of nanomedicine. For example, a team of researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is developing a nano-size battery to be implanted in the eye to power artificial retina. But this center will also design and build 'nanomedical devices based on natural and synthetic ion transporters -- proteins that control ion motion across the membranes of every living cell.'"
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Nanobatteries Power Artificial Eyes More

Nanobatteries Power Artificial Eyes

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  • Macular Degeneration fix? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by saskboy ( 600063 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @09:43PM (#14487632) Homepage Journal
    I wonder if this kind of technology will make it possible for people who have working nerves and brain center for sight, but whose eyes have been destroyed by illness or damage to the retina? Would macular degeneration, which according to http://www.macular.org/disease.html [macular.org] affects over 10 million Americans alone, be one of the blindnesses treatable by nanobatteries?

    • Probably Not (Score:2, Insightful)

      by thepotoo ( 829391 )
      Only the rich will be able to afford this tech for the next 10-20 years.
      After that, maybe the middle class will be able to afford it. In any event, it's not something the lower class would get.

      • Re:Probably Not (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Good, then you have twenty years to join the middle class, I feel that is more than enough of a warning.

      • Re:Probably Not (Score:3, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Only the rich will be able to afford this tech for the next 10-20 years. You know, some nations have socialized medicine...
      • Only the rich will be able to afford this tech for the next 10-20 years.
        After that, maybe the middle class will be able to afford it. In any event, it's not something the lower class would get.

        Unless your canadian then you all have to wait 50 years to get this technology and wait 4 years until a OR opens up for you. But we all get them.

    • Acceptance or Rejection by the Body (Score:5, Insightful)

      by reporter ( 666905 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @10:24PM (#14487821) Homepage
      These advances in artifical retina and the batteries to power them are amazing, but scientists rarely talk about how the human body would react to these foreign objects. Will the body accept these objects or attempt to fight them by forming clots or by summoning a white-cell army to attack them?

      In the case of breast enhancements, the body forms scar tissue around the silicone implants.

      In the case of artifical hearts, the patients faces the serious risk of blood clotting. The blood clots can flow into the brain and cause a stroke.

      Advances in science are great, but we've "just gotta know its limitations".

      • scientists rarely talk about how the human body would react to these foreign objects

        The edited highlights version that appears in the popular press omits such considerations. That does not mean that scientists ignore them. It is a very important aspect of the research itself. In fact, a key research topic is how to prevent such reactions. Scientists are beginning to have a very clear picture of how the immune system operates and are already developing techniques, short of depressing the immune system,

      • Re:Acceptance or Rejection by the Body (Score:5, Interesting)

        by posterlogo ( 943853 ) on Tuesday January 17, 2006 @01:30AM (#14488501)
        The general press and general public really do not bother to focus on concerns such as the ones you bring up. I'm glad you have the ability to think critically, but do not judge everything about this research from this press release. There are thousands of primary articles from scientists dedicated to understanding how to better implant medical devices. Look for articles in http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ [nih.gov] under pubmed -- search for terms like "implant", "rejection", "immune response", and other such keywords if you want to actually know what more about how science is dealing with this very issue. Such research has already made possible the ability to implant pacemakers, stints, artifical joints, steel plates. It is only a matter of time -- in my professional opinion, about 3-6 years until phase I clinical tests on fabricated retinas begins. Phase I/II are specifically designed to test the safety of medical drugs and devices to address the concerns you bring up about rejection. I think it could be up to 10 years until phase III -- the actual efficacy trial. Then we'll know how people whose vision has degenerated can benefit from this treatment. But we will certainly know before then whether or not animal models will respond to this treatment.
      • Please use Google Toolbar spelling check first - artificial, not artifical

    • Yes. (Score:3, Funny)

      by ichigo 2.0 ( 900288 )
      Sometimes reading the article is a good idea. FTA:

      The artificial retina and accompanying nanobattery will be used to correct certain types of macular degeneration.



      Personally, I'm waiting for models with zoom and nightvision before I trade in my weak organic meatballs.
    • ive heard of experiments with hammering photon-sentive grids into faulty eyes. the great thing about the brain is if you give it any input it will figure out how to use it (no external signal processing necessary). so there is some potential for simply converting light into into electical currrents on a faulty eye and letting the brain and nerves figure the rest out. if they could amplify the signal with a device powered by nanobatteries that approach might work better.
  • What sort of damage, and of what severity, could occur if this battery were to leak?

  • Sure, everytime you want to get more money, just trot out a hot babe like Susan Rempe in your press release... oh, wait, maybe I need an artificial retina! Anyway, doesn't SNL really stand for "Saturday Night Live"?!?
  • That thing must be a total pain in the ass to replace..

    • I RTFA, but... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by TubeSteak ( 669689 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @10:08PM (#14487748) Journal
      Why not implant something like they use in self-winding watches?

      If they're going to use nano-batteries, then we're talking mili-volts or less.

      The mechanisms that power self-winding watches don't actually require that much movement to recharge themselves.

      Just walking around a bit should give enough power to keep things running all day. And it doesn't need replacing.

      Just my 2 pence. Feel free to tell me why it's a bad idea
      • Actually, I've always thought that artificial retinas were a perfect candidate for that blood-powered fuel cell that was invented a little while ago.

        And during the day you can use solar, right?
      • What I'd like to know is when they're going to come up with something that can use the glucose in our bodies as a source of energy the same way our cells do. Just like your "self-winding" mechanism, as long as we're alive, they'll never need to be replaced.

        • What I'd like to know is when they're going to come up with something that can use the glucose in our bodies as a source of energy the same way our cells do.

          Not to mention, if the glucose-using fuel cells are _really_ inefficient, you'll have to consume about 12000 calories a day just so your implants don't eat your body for energy - plus you'll probably have some cool looking heat-sinks installed all over your skin so that the internal heat being generated doesn't roast you alive :-).

          • Is that 12,000 calories as in the measure of heat, or 12,000 calories as in the dietic measure. When talking about diet, 1 calorie is actual a kilocalorie if talking about units of heat/energy.
            • Whatever the typical way of measuring calories of food is used (human adults usually consuming ~2000-3000 calories per day for instance). I was only trying to make a joke anyway.
      • Odds are, the mechanism would have to be lots bigger than this nanobattery. It's alot harder to manufacture nano-sized mechanical parts (though this is an open topic) than it is to make nano-sized electronics.
      • I imagine some people don't move enough in their sleep, and would always wake up "blind"... Hopefully by the time they get to the bathroom to brush their teeth (that's something most non-slashdotters do everyday), they would be able to see again...
    • "Oh man this battery is a total pain to replace. I wish I was still blind."
    • More likely that it would be a total headache to replace.

  • I want the silver eyes... (Score:4, Funny)

    by SEWilco ( 27983 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @09:52PM (#14487674) Journal
    ... with Picture-in-Picture.
    • Careful, they might give you one with banner ads over the top, bottom and sides of your vision. That and any empty space on the wall or whiteboard will occasionally light up with one too.

  • More technology for the disabled, Yah! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by QuantumG ( 50515 ) <qg@biodome.org> on Monday January 16, 2006 @09:57PM (#14487699) Homepage Journal
    Yep, keep developing that high technology for my disabled countrymen, because sooner or later the technology will become common place and I'll finally be able to go get my retinas replaced. Why would I want to replace my healthy retinas with electronic ones? Well, for a start, I'm red/green color blind, and I don't think gene therapy is going to be available sooner than this stuff. Irrespective of that, when this technology is capable of delivering sharper images to my brain than the retinas I was born with what have I got to lose? Then there's the added benefit of interfacing my shiny new retinas with computer systems.
    • what have I got to lose?

      Quite a bit, really. You eveolved the way you are for a reason. It's probable that this tech is slower to focus than your regular eyes. And, what about if the batteries run out?

      Above applies only to a regular person, however. If I, like you, were color blind (a mutant), then I might reconsider.

    • I'm also red/green blind, and I don't think you appreciate the advantages it gives us over the "normal" people:

      1) Camoflage doesnt work very well at all, in fact most camoflaged stuff stands out like dog's balls to a r/g blind person.

      2) As a result we tend to make really good hunters and gatherers.

      3) We tend to have really good perception of texture etc, as we have adapted to the brown grass, brown trees and brown moss.

      Sure. I don't like dealing with mains power very much, as there are two red/brown wires,
    • Hmm. You want to replace your retinas with electronic systems?

      Yep. Like it. Can't see any possible downside there.

      You know, I think what I'll do is, I'll pretend I'm one of those deaf-mutes... * clickety - click *

    • Your brain probably doesn't have separate circuits for red and green, considering the eyes weren't separating that data, and your wiring is just a bit fossilized by now. I'm not sure fixing the receptors would fix the perception issue at this point.

      Mal-2
      • There have been demonstratable projects which involved restoring the vision of a blind individual through electronic apparati. The big problems seem to have been that multiple components are used, which are big, bulky, and inconvenient. Well, that and the resolution is about on par with a cheap webcam.

        However, these experiments (and I believe ones for hearing restoration as well) only worked on individuals who were either very young, or had lost vision/hearing at some point. For those who couldn't hear/se

  • Just like T3 (Score:2, Funny)

    by ssk77077 ( 855702 )
    I'll take a set of the glowing blue LED eyes
  • Has sci-fi overly stimulated designers, or is it the other way around?
    What we focus on creates our future.
    Better outlaw thinking before some one comes up with dangerous ideas. [edge.org]
    • I would guess sci fi helps to inspire researchers. Have you read anything by Jules Verne? He gives almost a perfect description of some technologies that weren't invented until years after he wrote. It's rather amazing. I think Science Fiction helps people dream about what can be done in the future, and this inspires inventors to actually create the things they grew up reading about or seeing in movies.
  • National Center for Design of Biomimetic Nanoconductors

    Next thing you know the world will be ravaged by a rogue band of T-2000's, made of perfectly disguised, indestructable biomimetic nanoconducting polyalloy! [wikipedia.org]
  • Can this be used for other non-biological things that need small batteries? For instance, laptops/pdas, while less important than artifical eyes, could benefit from any sort of watt-hour/area increase. Also, you could design an ultralight car that runs on a battery, right?

  • 1. They haven't developed the eyes any further than otherwise reported some time ago.
    2. The batteries don't exist yet, really.
    3. The batteries that don't yet exist are being designed for artificial eyes that don't yet exist.

    I'm all for this technology to mature -- I have two blind relatives and it seems likely that others in my family will also have problems as they age. The kinds of work they're doing should help them if it matures. This article, however, doesn't actually show much advancement other than a new lab is working on a new thing, that could power a new device -- when they all get it figured out.

    I wish /. wasn't so open to posts like that.

    • 1. They haven't developed the eyes any further than otherwise reported some time ago.
      2. The batteries don't exist yet, really.
      3. The batteries that don't yet exist are being designed for artificial eyes that don't yet exist.


      And here I thought Microsoft was bad when it came to vaorware! ;-)
    • 3. The batteries that don't yet exist are being designed for artificial eyes that don't yet exist.

      RTFA: "starting with an artificial retina that has already been developed at the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California".

      And with a little research, you can find reports (here [wired.com] and here [about.com], and even on /. [slashdot.org]) from last May's Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting about six previously completely blind patients have successfully used the referenced retinas to detect light.

      An
      • Ref - your comment to my third point about eyes not yet existing was to point out previous articles about the eyes. In fact, statement was specifically that the article does not actually represent advancement beyond what we've already seen printed about the science of artificial eyes.

        Its INCREADIBLY cool what they've done -- however this article doesn't actually show advances in those technologies. Just the promise of smaller batteries based on some magic that doesn't really scale yet for eyes that aren't
    • More to the point:
      These things are batteries. How often do they need to be changed?

      More promising to my mind was the preliminary reports I heard of work on a fuel cell that could operate on glucose and oxygen extracted from the blood stream. (Which, admittedly, doesn't really exist yet either.)

      OTOH, I've also read about implantable rechargeable batteries that can be charged via an rfid style antenna. That would be a good intermediate step.

  • Ahem... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by imgumbydamnit ( 730663 ) on Monday January 16, 2006 @10:28PM (#14487833)

    If we could ignore for a moment the trolls and knuckle draggers who must comment on Susan Rempe's appearance, this advance will be important to those of us who are losing eyesight to RP or AMD.

    Most of the current clinical trials for artificial retinas (http://www.optobionics.com/ [optobionics.com] excluded) rely on some sort of external component partially due to the lack of a sufficiently small, dense, permanent, biocompatible power source. This then requires some sort of link to the retinal surface, either via micro-lasers or implanted ultra-thin wires. As much as enjoy watching ST:TNG, I for one would happily trade the Geordi LaForge look for a strictly internal prosthetic.

  • Case turned his head and looked up into Wage's face. It was a tanned and forgettable mask. The eyes were vatgrown sea-green Nikon transplants. Wage wore a suit of gunmetal silk and a simple bracelet of platinum on either wrist.

  • Dirty Hackers (Score:2, Informative)

    by borisborf ( 906678 )
    Remember, though, that these artificial retinas will have some sort of computer control and some kind of programming. Lets sure hope that these things don't have a live-update feature for the software because that would mean a non-local connection. That'd lead to vulnerabilities. Just imagine your vision not only lagging and causing you pain, but it being used to carry out a spam attack. Lets hope M$ doesnt make any software for these things. I don't want to load "critical updates" into my eyes.
    • Wow, you actually turned this into an attack against Microsoft. I'm impressed with your single focus. It takes a real man to stab Redmondward with all his strength, even when it doesn't make any sense at all.
  • Surely solar powered retinas are the way to go?
    • From the Manual:
      After heavy usage, or extended periods of inactivity (such as sleeping) your vision may begin to dim as the internal batteries are depleted. In this case, simply stare at the sun to recharge the batteries until your vision is restored to its normal brightness. WARNING: Do not stare at the sun for extended periods of time, as this may cause injury, blindness, or spontaneous combustion of the retinas.
    • I don't think that'll help too much, as our blindness will all be caused by staring at computer screens too much. I don't think your LCD's backlight is going to cut it. On the other side of the same hand, I don't think encouraging people to stare at the sun will help matters too much either.
  • Oh great, now I have to buy a firewall and anti-virus for each of my nano-implants! ...and I thought medical bills were expensive before.
    • Oh great, now I have to buy a firewall and anti-virus for each of my nano-implants!

      Not sure why you felt compelled to install Windows on your eyes but there's always Linux in case they happen to spontaneously combust

  • I will begin to care when:

    1) It is cheap
    2) I mean really cheap
    3) Can give me vision better than [insert animal with outstanding vision here]

  • Bato not impressed. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Bushido Hacks ( 788211 ) on Tuesday January 17, 2006 @12:39AM (#14488360) Homepage Journal
    Tachikoma: "Mr. Bato! Where are you going?"
    Bato: "I can't see a damn thing! All I see is this blue screen with some stupid message asking me to press enter."
    Kusanagi: "Is that why you are in the ladies rest room?"
    Aramaki: "What the hell are you all stand around and blathering about?!"
    Kusanagi: "It's Bato. He's got the blue screen of death again."
    Togusa: "Have you pressed CTRL-ALT-DEL?"
    Saito: "What are you? Some kind of noobie? Run a diagonstic!"
    Aramaki: "Go to the Start Menu!"
    Tachikoma: "Call technical support!"
    The other Tachikomas (pass through the hall): "What's going on?"
    Tachikoma: "It's Mr. Bato! He can't see!"
    Bato (bumps head against the wall accidently, then is embarrassed by the events that just occured): "If I don't show up for work tomarrow, don't call to wake me up."
  • The human heart creates a small amount of electricity when it beats, correct? (this is how the brain sends signals to the muscles and suchforth, yes?)

    So, instead of making a super-small battery that still has to hold a huge charge, why not draw the excess electricity that would have been used for the eye (its excess because the eye is no longer there, which would be why you are getting an artificial one) and use that instead of a battery, or at the very least, send it to a small capacitator so it can cha

  • New Steam Powered Eyes! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by nick_davison ( 217681 ) on Tuesday January 17, 2006 @01:05AM (#14488436)
    OK, so my first thought, upon reading this...

    The human body has been doing remarkably well at powering itself, without batteries, for millenia (with the one exception on Monday mornings).

    Why do we need "nano" batteries? If we're down to the point of building things at an atomic level, shouldn't we be at the point where we a) build things with the same (or at least similar) efficiency as the body had in the first place and b) thus use the same power supply the part we're replacing used?

    Whilst it's really cool we're building nano-batteries, it sounds more like a lab cashing in on the exciting buzz technology of the moment to solve a problem rather than looking at the problem that actually needs solving and finding the right solution for it.

    It makes me wonder, did people 150 years ago try getting seed captial for equally ridiculous concepts involving the new buzz tech of steam? Actually, thinking about it, I know they did - and we laugh at the craziness of the inventors who anounced they were going to invent steam powered underpants or whatever back then. Makes me wonder how much the people of 150 years in the future will smack their heads and laugh at the ridiculous concepts for exploiting nano-tech we're coming up with now, when far more obvious solutions were staring us in the face.

  • It seems as this is one place a solar cell would be appropriate. Sure, first thing in the morning you might have to look at a light to boot your eyes but at least you don't have to worry about running out of juice when you need it.
  • For those that are facing something such as loss of their vision (for many others, I'm assuming that reading slashdot might be a bit of a chore), what would you risk to get it back?

    Not being able to see properly would suck, but not being alive or possibly fritzing my brain in some other way would suck more. I've considered getting laser-eye-surgery to correct my vision, but it's not bad enough that I'd really run with the risks. Maybe if my vision were worse, I would

    But even given the possibility of mal

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