Implants Help People Regain Eyesight By Sending Images Directly To The Brain

Anisha - Jul 29, 2019

With the invention of the neural implant Orion, researchers are one step closer to restoring eyesight for many blind patients.

A person becomes blind when the visual cortex in their brain is undamaged but still useless as it stops receiving information from their eyes. This is different from being born blind.

With this knowledge, scientists had conducted a medical trial with a high-tech gadget named Orion that can deliver pictures from a camera straight to the brain. The trial returned excellent outcomes as six participants with visual loss had partially regained their eyesight. This promising result suggests a hopeful future for visually impaired people.

Blind-people-may-have-the-chance-to-regain-their-vision-with-the-help-of-the-Orion-device-1 — Blind people may have the chance to regain their vision with the help of the Orion device

Alex Shortt, a surgeon of Optegra Eye Hospital, shared:

The development of the Orion

The Orion consists of two major components: an implant in the brain, and a camera installed onto a pair of glasses. The brain implant contains 60 electrodes that obtain visual information from the camera. As such, this device provides images straight to the visual cortex of the wearer, completely omit the eyes from the visual pathway.

Researcher-Daniel-Yoshor-explains-about-the-Orion-2 — Researcher Daniel Yoshor explains about the Orion

The research team offered patients with vision loss to participate in a study to examine the feasibility of the device. Participants were asked to keep their eyes on a black computer screen while wearing Orion. Most of the time, participants could precisely point out the location of the white squares that randomly pop up on the screen.

The first step to a brighter future

A participant in the study, Benjamin James Spencer, shared his genuine feelings with The Daily Mail after being able to see his wife and kids. He noted that rather than high-resolution images, the scenes he could see were more like “grainy 1980s surveillance video footage.” Nevertheless, Spencer was grateful for this cutting-edge technology.

35-year-old-Benjamin-James-Spencer-sees-the-world-for-the-first-time-after-26-years-3 — 35-year-old Benjamin James Spencer sees the world for the first time after 26 years

Daniel Yoshor has strong hope that the trials are just the first steps towards bringing back the lights to visually impaired people.

The researcher has shared his belief in a press conference.

For now, even though the Orion has yet to achieve this level of practicality, it already made a substantial contribution to improving the lives of many blind people.