Eye Implant Restores Vision From: NASA Tech Briefs Insider - 09/29/2009 Inspired by the success of cochlear implants that can restore hearing to some deaf people, Massachusetts of Institute Technology (MIT) researchers are working on a retinal implant that could one day help blind people regain a useful level of vision. The eye implant is designed for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa, or age-related macular degeneration - two of the leading causes of blindness. Patients who received the implant would wear a pair of glasses with a camera that sends images to a microchip attached to the eyeball. When the microchip receives visual information, it activates electrodes that stimulate nerve cells in the areas of the retina corresponding to the features of the visual scene. The electrodes directly activate optical nerves that carry signals to the brain, bypassing the damaged layers of the retina. The chip would not restore normal vision but it could help blind people more easily navigate a room or walk down a sidewalk. "Anything that could help them see a little better and let them identify objects and move around a room would be an enormous help," says Shawn Kelly, a researcher in MIT's Research Laboratory for Electronics and member of the Boston Retinal Implant Project. The team will begin testing a prototype implant within the next three years. Read the entire article at: Simulating Sight http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/microchip-blind-092309.html Links: Boston Retinal Implant Project http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/ Shawn Kelly http://web.mit.edu/skkelly/www/ Retinal Implant Project http://www.rle.mit.edu/rleonline/ProgressReports/2104_17.pdf John Wyatt http://www.rle.mit.edu/rleonline/People/JohnL.Wyatt.html New Bionic Eye Could Restore Sight http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1152/new-bionic-eye-could-restore-sight.html Latest MIT retinal implant to see human trials by 2013 http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=1785