[blindza] Fw: On brain implants: Monash researchers in race to restore sight

Now this would specifically be something I could benefit from if it ever reaches production. 

Stay well

Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
Skype: BlindZA
'...fate had broken his body, but not his spirit...'
----- Original Message ----- 
Monash researchers in race to restore sight.

17 December 2009.
Sight could be restored to hundreds of thousands of people around the world with the invention of a bionic eye, developed by Victorian researchers led by a team 
of scientists from Monash University.

The project will develop a human implant within four years.
The Monash based team, made up of engineering and computer scientists, together with a team of medical researchers from the Department of Physiology and Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, and Victorian companies Grey Innovation and MiniFab will 
begin work immediately on the $8 million dollar project.
The funding was announced by the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr and is one of two projects to receive support under 
the Australian Research Council's Research in Bionic Vision Science and
Technology Initiative, which was developed in response to the Australia 2020 Summit.
The team aims to develop a device that is implanted directly on the region of the brain that processes vision signals (the visual cortex). This will provide treatment for the majority of forms of blindness, including partial blindness. 

Head of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering at Monash University
Professor Arthur Lowery said the funding will allow the team to take their
concept to the next level.

"We will develop a device that stimulates the brain using hundreds of
electrodes. This electrode array can be placed conveniently on the surface of 
the brain, so the implant is not overly intrusive - a relatively simple and
safe procedure," Professor Lowery said.

"The electrodes stimulate the vision areas of the brain mimicking the
stimulation they would normally receive through the optic pathway. An advantage of this approach is that it bypasses damaged or dead parts of the visual pathway including the retina and optic nerve. This means that it can cure up to 90 per 
cent of cases of blindness.

"Also, because the brain has a larger surface area than the retina it is
possible to get a much higher resolution image than with retinal implants. It 
does not destroy the patient's residual vision, it enhances it," Professor
Lowery said.

Monash University Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor,
Research Professor Edwina Cornish said the successful finding bid reflects on 
the university's expertise in bioengineering

"We are deligted to have been given the financial backing to develop this
concept with our partners," Professor Cornish said.

The team includes Director of Neurosurgery at the Alfred, Professor Jeffrey
Rosenfeld, world renowned visual pathways expert Professor Marcello Rosa,
founder of micro-manufacturing company MiniFab Dr Erol Harvey, Former CEO of
Dynamic Hearing Elaine Saunders, mechanical and aerospace Engineer Professor
James Friend and head of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering Professor 
Arthur Lowery.


Source URL:
http://www.monash.edu.au/news/newsline/story/1558


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