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Ophthalmologists, Physicists Design Bionic Eye
InfallibleLies writes "For the first time ever, those who have been blind since birth will have a chance to see the world. It's still in the early stages, but this is a giant leap forward in medical science." From the linked BBC article:
"U.S scientists have designed a bionic eye to allow blind people to see again. It comprises a computer chip that sits in the back of the individual's eye, linked up to a mini video camera built into glasses that they wear. Images captured by the camera are beamed to the chip, which translates them into impulses that the brain can interpret."
what you could see with a Beowulf cluster of these things....
Insert witty comment *here*. I'm fresh out of wit...
Does this mean that x-ray, and other non-visible lightwave sight is possible? Or does the visual cortex of the brain prevent such input? Can't these wavelengths be represented as weird colors or textures? This opens up alot of interesting possiblities. But it is amazing that they can restore someones vision now. Does this work for people born blind, or only for people who have lost their sight. I'm not sure but I think the visual cortex needs to learn how to see and this is only possible during youth, but I'm not sure about that. I assume this only replaces a damaged eye and not a damaged visual cortex. But it is very impressive and important technology. Congrats to the researchers.
"Those that start by burning books, will end by burning men."
Actually it is unlikely that people who have been blind since birth (i.e. they were born that way and didn't develop blindness sometime later) would ever be able to see.
Numerous studies in cats have shown that "disabling" one eye during a kitten's developmental stages will pretty much render the eye useless if given the chance see again once the kitten is an adult cat. The whole idea is that if the eyes were not properly functioning during the most important developmental stages right after birth - when the brain is wiring itself to make sense out of the visual world - it will not occur in adulthood.
So I doubt some brain-computer interface will be able to give sight to somebody who has never had it to begin with. This technology will be more useful for those who already have the wiring, but lost their vision since that time.
Just my two cents.