[blindza] Fw: Bionic eyes implanted in blind patients

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Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...Fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
----- Original Message ----- Bionic eyes implanted in blind patients. 

By Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor, April 21 2008.

Bionic eyes have been implanted in British patients for
the first time offering hope to hundreds of thousands of
blind people.

Two blind patients underwent the procedure, which
surgeons say 'is straight out of science fiction', at
Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London last week and
are said to be "doing well".

Surgeons implanted an electronic device into the back of
the eye to allow the patients to distinguish objects as
pictures made up of spots of light.

The device works with a tiny camera mounted in a pair of
glasses which transmits a wireless signal via a small
processor on a belt into a receiver and a panel of
electrodes placed in the back of the eye.

Three more patients will have the four-hour operation as
part of an international trial before the technique is
evaluated and extended.

At first patients who are completely blind due to an
inherited condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa are being
treated but eventually it could be offered to thousands
of patients as the devices are perfected.

The operations were carried out by Mr Lyndon da Cruz, a
consultant retinal surgeon at Moorfields. He said:
"Conceptually it could be used for anyone with extremely
poor vision but a physically intact optic nerve. The sort
of vision we are getting is not good quality but as the
thing gets better it will open up to more and more
people."

Earlier trials in America have shown patients can see
light, shapes and movement. They were able to navigate
without their stick or guide dog and distinguish between
objects on a table suggesting the device could help blind
people to lead independent lives.

Mr da Cruz said this latest trial will help to evaluate
if the technique restores enough vision for patients to
rely on it alone in the long term.

The Second Sight's Argus II retinal implant technology
works by mimicking the eye's natural ability to absorb
light and process it into a picture.

A wireless signal is transmitted from the camera in the
glasses to a small processing device, the size of a
walkman that can be worn on a belt. It is then sent to an
ultra thin electronic receiver, and electrode panel that
is implanted in the eye and attached to the retina.

The electrodes stimulate the remaining retinal nerves
allowing a signal to be passed along the optic nerve to
the brain. The brain perceives patterns of light and dark
spots corresponding to which electrodes are stimulated.

Mr da Cruz said the technology was extremely exciting and
is a completely new way of treating eye conditions.

He said: "We have been fascinated with the idea of
combining electronics and the human body since the Bionic
Man in the 1970s. This shows it can and is being done."

Three other hospitals in Europe are taking part in the
trial and by the end of the year surgeons at Moorfields
hope to have treated ten patients.

The devices are made by a company called Second Sight
near Los Angeles in California, which was founded in 1998
to help find treatments for patients with Retinitis
Pigmentosa, in which vision gradually deteriorates over
the years, and similar conditions.

Over two million people in the UK have significant sight
loss with more than 360,000 registered as blind or
partially sighted, according to the Royal National
Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Barbara McLauglan, Eye Health Campaign Manager at Royal
National Institute for the Blind said: "We very much
welcome the progress that is being made with this type of
technology. While 50 per cent of sight loss can be
prevented, we must not forget that there are conditions
that cannot be treated at present such as dry age-related
macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.

"An improved bionic eye that allows blind people to see
more of their surroundings will improve their mobility
and quality of life. RNIB will continue to monitor
progress in this area with great interest over the next
few years."

Source URL:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/04/21/scieye121.xml


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