Australian gets the world's first prototype bionic eye
16 replies, posted
[QUOTE]SYDNEY — An Australian woman robbed of her sight 30 years ago told Thursday how she saw a "little flash of light" after being implanted with the world's first prototype bionic eye.
Dianne Ashworth, 54, went blind through an inherited condition called retinitis pigmentosa but had some vision after the device was surgically implanted in a Melbourne hospital and connected up to a laboratory unit.
"All of a sudden I could see a little flash ... it was amazing," Ashworth said in a statement from the Bionic Vision Australia research project. "Every time there was stimulation there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye."
The retinal implant has 24 electrodes that send impulses to nerve cells in the eye - electrical impulses that occur naturally in those with normal vision.
In the prototype, a wire from the back of the eye connects with a receptor behind the ear. The receptor is plugged into a laboratory unit, which researchers use to control the information sent to the eye, allowing them to study how the brain reacts.
"This is a world first," surgeon Penny Allen said. "We implanted a device in this position behind the retina, demonstrating the viability of our approach."
Team leader David Penington said the results were better than they had expected, inspiring confidence that "useful vision" would come with a fully developed bionic eye.
"Much still needs to be done in using the current implant to build images for Ms Ashworth," he said. "The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices."
A complete device would have a vision processor that builds images using flashes of light. It would also have an external camera.
Future prototypes would have more than 1,000 electrodes so "useful vision" could be achieved.
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[url]http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/31/164518/australian-gets-the-worlds-first.html[/url]
Yeah, and his vision is augmented.
We get it, you don't have to post Deus Ex references in every thread like this
[QUOTE=UberMunchkin;37484078][I]He never asked for this[/I].[/QUOTE]
I'd ask for this.
[QUOTE=UberMunchkin;37484078][I]He never asked for this[/I].[/QUOTE]
She :eng101:
Gentlemen, we can restore her sight. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic eyes. Dianne Ashworth will have those eyes. (you guys know the rest, but it don't quite apply yet)
24 electrodes isn't all that much, but it's a start; here's hoping the later prototypes with over 1000 electrodes can yield better vision. Maybe one day we could have optical augmentations that have better visual capabilities than normal eyes, maybe even with digital zoom.
Is there a picture of the device?
[QUOTE=ironman17;37484323]Gentlemen, we can restore her sight. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic eyes. Dianne Ashworth will have those eyes. (you guys know the rest, but it don't quite apply yet)
24 electrodes isn't all that much, but it's a start; here's hoping the later prototypes with over 1000 electrodes can yield better vision. Maybe one day we could have optical augmentations that have better visual capabilities than normal eyes, maybe even with digital zoom.[/QUOTE]
Terminator 2 robot-eye-vision.
oh god tf2 lore is true the australians are more advanced run RUN
How is this the world's first? Hasn't this kind of thing existed for a whole decade?
I find it kind of ironic how there's no pictures in the article.
Wasn't there this small backpack with the camera eye thing that sends signals to the brain which again give an really usable eye-like view?
[QUOTE=Talishmar;37484772]How is this the world's first? Hasn't this kind of thing existed for a whole decade?[/QUOTE]
The article leads me to believe it's an actual implanted thing, and not just a "camera glasses" deal.
[QUOTE=ElectricSquid;37487101]Are there cameras that fit into an eye socket? Not like a prosthetic eye, but a miniature camera that you could use for PoV filming[/QUOTE]
Some but they haven't got them working with quality or with a great transmission system AFAIK
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