Bionic eye may help blind to see!?

[Mr. Analog]

 A computer chip placed at the back of an eye recieves information from cameras mounted in glasses.

More here.

Reminds me of Geordi (from Star Trek: The Next Generation) because of the way the implant would work. A question crosses my mind though; if it could fix my visual impairment would I even want it?

[Bryan]

 I dont "see" why you wouldn't want it.

[Mr. Analog]

I dont "see" why you wouldn't want it.

I'm used to the way I see, I think it would be difficult to try to figure out how to walk, use stairs, etc, etc all over again.

[Melbosa]

 Aye that is definately true.  But then again there would be new things for you to experience: driving, flying a plain, etc.

But hey your choice.  You'll still be our Mr. A in the end

[Thorin]

 Would it actually fix your impairment, Mr. A.?  Aren't you already able to recognize faces and make your way through a building?

I'm surprised they haven't realized that this is conceptually the same as hooking a digital camera up to the brain.  They could get much better resolution if they switched to a 5 Megapixel CCD

[Mr. Analog]

 Well, this is phase one, but if it is successful and can be made affordable sho knows where the technology could go.

[Darren Dirt]

 

Aye that is definately true.

ha, ha. Intentionally punny?

PS: Mr. A, it's iRonic that you said "if it could fix my visual impairment would I even want it" cuz isn't that almost verbatim what Geordi said when confronted with the possibility? I personally could get used to having my nearsightedness magically "fixed" even if it meant I had to get used to living life a little different, thinking the short-term pain of learning anew would be worth the long term gain of expanded horizons.

I'm sure you'll keep your eyes on this technology either way.

[Mr. Analog]

 I might have a lack of sight, but I don't lack vision! har har

[Darren Dirt]

 Ooo... Didn't see that coming. You blindsided me with that bright flash of wit

[Ustauk]

I'm surprised they haven't realized that this is conceptually the same as hooking a digital camera up to the brain.  They could get much better resolution if they switched to a 5 Megapixel CCD

The problem isn't so much the optical receiver, but the interface.  From the sound of it,they're interfacing directly into the optical nerve.  Righ now, they're probably just figuring out what never cluster to stimulate to produce what stimuli.  It will take many years before they refine it to fully use all the data provided by the optical receptor.  Mr. Analog has functional site for getting around and using a computer, so the current technology would be inferior to the sight he has.  I imagine it'll be a decade or two before the technology surpasses that, and even then I imagine the risks of the surger might make it hard to justify for Mr. Analog.  What this techonlogy will be useful for is people who are completely blind, but still have an optic nerve.  You can't make things worse with implants there, short of infection.

[Tonnica]

 

Well, this is phase one, but if it is successful and can be made affordable sho knows where the technology could go.

Yeah you never can tell where they're going to go once they get a reliable setup of technology. I'm totally holding out for getting jet engines installed in my legs though.


They've been working on retinal implant chips for a few years and this looks like a more "complete" version of the setup. They still have a ways to go to improve the results though so more detail is picked up and processed correctly. Though this particular version might lead to a very needed complete eye replacement for people with degraded or underdeveloped optic nerves. Vision doesn't end at the retina and if the eyeformation superhighway of the optic nerve (sorry for the pun) can't handle the info then changing the front part of the eye won't affect much change.

I keep tabs on this kind of stuff and stay hopeful, but to be honest I'd be terrified to have something like this installed and lose the quality of vision I have now. I may still ram into telephone poles on occassion but my up-close vision is highly detailed (allowing me to read text even on those tiny asprin bottles). I wouldn't want to sacrifice that, it's too much a part of my field of senory comfort.

[Bryan]

I dont "see" why you wouldn't want it.

I'm used to the way I see, I think it would be difficult to try to figure out how to walk, use stairs, etc, etc all over again.

I had no idea you were visually impaired. If the way they describe the technology is basically the same way you see now, then there is no point by the sounds of it. but if it were to help you see better.......

[Darren Dirt]

 Yeah, and Tonnica as well (she apparently has the same condition even a bit worse) <-- correct me if wrong, friends

[Ustauk]

 Here's another option for completely blind people.  This wouldn't apply to Mr. Analog and Tonnica, since they have some site, but I found it interesting

http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/media/2004-2005/m...2005-04-02a.mp3

Seeing with Sound

Listen to or download the mp3 or Ogg files.  (what's ogg?)

Pat Fletcher with her tiny camera hidden in her sunglasses 

Imagine being blind for 25 years, and suddenly being able to see again - using your ears. It sounds impossible, but that's exactly what happened to Pat Fletcher. For the past few years, she's been experimenting with a revolutionary new technology that allows her to see through sound. Using a simple computer program that she downloaded from the Internet, called "The vOICe", which translates visual images into soundscapes, Pat's brain is able to translate those sounds back into images.

Toronto science journalist Alison Motluk spent a day with Pat Fletcher at her home in Buffalo, New York. She plugged her recorder into Pat's computer, so we can hear what Pat hears. She also spoke with Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, a neurologist at Harvard University, who believes that brain cells have the latent ability to process information from a variety of senses. That means the brain can translate input from one sense into another.

Alison's documentary is called, "See, If You Can Hear This."

[Bryan]

 The brain is quite amazing. (in most cases)