[blindza] FW: Seeing is believing in micro implants.
- From: "Jacob Kruger" <jacobk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "BlindZA" <blindza@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:43:25 +0200
Hi all
While this stuff is amazing, including what they're doing to the moth pupae,
I wish they were working on bypassing the optic nerves, but I reckon they'll
get there one day.
Stay well
Jacob Kruger
Blind Biker
------------------------------original message---
Subject: Seeing is believing in micro implants.
Seeing is believing in micro implants.
Column by Gerard Voland
Column by Gerard Voland
Mon, Jun. 11, 2007.
Microelectromechanical systems are becoming part of the technical landscape.
They include video projectors, automobile acceleromaters, blood pressure
sensors
and inkjet printers - as well as artificial retinas for the blind and live
insects used for surveillance purposes.
These devices vary in size from a micrometer (one-millionth of a meter) to a
millimeter.
One research endeavor heavily dependent upon MEMS technology is the
Artificial Retina Project, which seeks to provide limited vision to those
who have
been blinded by retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. These
diseases attack the photoreceptors, or light-sensing cells, in the retina,
disabling
the eye's ability to detect images. Normally, observed light is converted by
these photoreceptors into electric impulses that are transmitted to the
optic
nerve and then to the brain.
The primary objective of this project is to provide those suffering from
retinal diseases with the ability to read, recognize faces and walk without
canes
or guide dogs. In clinical trials during the past several years, artificial
retinas have been successfully implanted in patients, allowing them to
discriminate
between shades of light and to discern objects.
Many microelectrodes, only micrometers in length and comparable in size to
nerve endings, are implanted and attached to the natural retina. The patient
then uses eyeglasses with a miniature video camera and microprocessor,
together with a receiver that is implanted behind the ear and connected by
cable
to the microelectrodes attached to the retina. Images of light seen by the
camera are converted by the microprocessor into electrical signals and sent
to the receiver. Signals then are transmitted by the receiver to the
microelectrodes, which send impulses to the optic nerve, acting in place of
the patient's
natural but damaged retina.
A smaller, second-generation artificial retina is under review by the U. S.
Food and Drug Administration, while a third prototype which is expected to
produce higher resolution images is being designed and fabricated. The more
advanced versions of the device will include many more microelectrodes for
enhanced resolution of images.
Significant funding for the project is being provided by the U.S. Department
of Energy, the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health
and the National Science Foundation. The project is led by the Doheny Eye
Institute at the University of Southern California.
Another eye-opening example of MEMS technology in action is the ongoing
effort to create cyborg spy moths. Last month, Rod Brooks, the director of
the
Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, noted that
remote-controlled moths were being developed as part of the robotics
programs
of the U.S. Department of Defense.
A tiny computer chip is implanted in the insect's cocoon while it is still
in the pupa stage, allowing people to control the moth after it hatches and
develops. The hope is that the moth can be used as a surveillance tool,
directed to travel to specific locations and then transmitting video images
and
other data.
Gerard Voland is the dean of the School of Engineering, Technology and
Computer Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Send
questions
and comments to him at
volandg@xxxxxxxx
or 481-6839.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/17353628.htm
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