A new bionic eye could help people suffering with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to see better, according to LeadingAge.com recently.
The article noted that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has okayed a bionic eye that professionals believe will ultimately improve the vision of older people who have advanced-stage AMD. According to the article, the bionic eye, officially called Argus II, is the first treatment designed to give blind people some level of vision.
The article explained that Second Sight Medical Products, the Sylmar, California-based company focused on developing a retinal prosthesis to provide sight to blind patients, designed Argus II to assist people diagnosed with severe retinitis pigmentoasa. This uncommon genetic ailment destroys cells in the retina, which ultimately causes blindness
Approximately 100,000 Americans have retinitis pigmentosa, according to the article. The article added that, initially, only 10,000-15,000 — or 10% t0 15% of those patients — will qualify for the bionic eye treatment. However, versions of the technology that come out in the future could help a lot more people with other types of serious vision loss problems, said Grace Shen, the National Eye Institute’s retinal diseases program director.
While the Argus II technology will give blind people some of their sight back, it will not allow them to see clearly. The person with the bionic eye will be able to decipher objects’ boundaries and outlines, particularly when there’s a noticeable contrast between dark and light.
The article noted that the bionic eye works as follows:
- The medical professionals implant an artificial retina in the eye of the patient.
- The patient gets a pair of sunglasses equipped with both a camera and video processor.
- The camera incorporated into the eyeglasses captures images and the video processor converts the images into pixelized patterns of dark and light.
- The processor sends these patterns to the electrodes.
- The electrodes direct these patterns to the patient’s brain and, in doing so, bypasses the compromised retina.
Ultimately, Second Sight wants to be able to implant electrodes directly into the cortex of the brain, which would enable the bionic eye to help people diagnosed with AMD and other causes of blindness.
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