Slashdot Mirror
Bionic Cat Eye Implants Aid Blindness Research
docinthemachine writes with news of felines getting human retinal implants. The cats were afflicted with a version of retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that also blinds humans. The implants are 2-millimeter-wide chips surgically implanted in the back of eye. Each chip's surface is covered with 5,000 microphotodiodes that react to light, sending electric signals along the eye's optic nerve to the brain. The article makes clear that the implants don't allow the cats to see — what they get is impulses of light. The hope is that the electrical activity in the optic nerve will encourage new retinal cells to grow. The article notes: "The chips, which provide their own energy, have shown encouraging results in clinical human trials, in some cases improving sight in people with retinitis pigmentosa or at least slowing the disease's development. Narfstrom said chips have been implanted in 30 people."
My cat refuses to use any product or treatment that has been tested on humans.
-Peter
"Resistance is futile." - The Borg
You constantly struggle for self improvement - and it shows.
Hooray for bad Engrish on fortune cookies
being chipped!
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
Don't you usually test these things on the animals first, and then try it on humans? Rather than the other way around.
I for one, welcome our new feline cyborg overlords.
My cats acts like he can't see the food I put in front of him. I think they are scamming the researchers.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Vet: The is squirrel is badly hurt. it will require about $10,000 worth of surgery, plus we have to fly in a special set of instruments from Switzerland.
George: i see. How much to put the thing down?
Vet: About 65 cents.
George: hmm..
* Georges girlfriend shoots him the evil eye *
George: Um...just asking
Maybe I don't get it, but there are hundreds of sighted cats that are put down every day in shelters around the US. How about giving your blind cat the gift of mercy and adopting a new cat?
NOTE: Poster may be bitter about (1) having a finance whose apartment is infested with a cat and (2) being allergic to the damn things.
This promotion campaign of yours is really fucking pathetic, just FYI.
The cats have never forgotten this.
Saying on T-Shirt
How I long for the regular off topic posts, like those from the GNAA...
They've hit a snag in the research. It's quite puzzling. They've discovered that the cat can see and is blind at the same time.
There are many tongues to talk, and but few heads to think. -Victor Hugo
> The hope is that the electrical activity in the optic nerve will encourage new retinal cells to
> grow
Yeah, I've got a machine which is self aware in my garage. Well, almost. It's got a flashing cursor and it can display pre-defined messages on the screen. The hope is that electrical activity around the CPU area will encourage some kind of cyber almost nearly virtual awareness in the memory banks and will allow it to pass the Turing test.
Do these cats now make a cool "Tch tch tch tch tch tch" bionic-noise when they move? Because that would be awesome. People would come over and I'd say, "Watch out for my bionic cat," and they'd say, "Right, bionic cat, haha," and the cat would be all like, "Tch tch tch tch tch tch," and they'd be like "OMGWTF?" and I'd be like "ROTFLMAO!"
Do they make bionic gerbils? It's, erm, ahhhhh, for the cat....
I don't think I would enjoy trying to sleep while "seeing" flashes of light...can you turn the thing off at night?
Actually that didn't work out too well... I had something for a general audience in mind...
Personally, I am patiently awaiting science to figure out a way to eliminate "bionic cat stink." That stuff is deadly. That will surely be a glorious day for all man(and cat)kind.
That's sooo Osama bin Laden.
This together with the earlier post http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/01/2 3/1640254 about growing chains of neurons like an "extension cord" means that we are making huge advances in the soldering analogy with electronics--but in brains.
Expect to see "leads" drawn from *specific sites* on brains to pins on processors or storage chips.
I, for one, welcome our new overclocked overlords.
I for one welcome our new bionic kitten overlords...
I'm not a neurophysiologist, so perhaps the answer to this is obvious, but I've got a question: if the chip can detect light impulses and stimulate the optic nerve, why does there need to be cellular regeneration? Given time, wouldn't the brain learn to interpret those signals as optical input, just like it did with the rods and cones the eye was born with? Obviously, the "grain" and responsiveness of the photodiodes is much worse than that of the Mark I eyeball, but it's still a path for light information to get to the brain. The resultant "sight" would be far inferior to natural vision, but also better than blindness.
The human brain is nothing if not adaptable; I would think it could learn to use anything which was able to pump signals onto the optic nerve.
Or am I way off base?
Reality has a conservative bias: it conserves mass, energy, momentum...
Oingo Boingo forever!
Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
-kfg
My ex-wife's mother (what the heck do you call her, an ex-mother-in-law?) - worked at a highly prestigious university studying the optics of cat eyes. Back in the mid-nineties, we knew more about cat eyes through direct experimentation than human eyes, for obvious reasons. (Before you ask, yes, the cats were destroyed humanely during the process.)
Please keep in mind that there are many levels of clinical trials to go. If you wish to further this type of work, please consider donating your eyes upon your demise. Whether they're donated to science or to help someone else's vision more directly, you're still giving yourself so that others might not suffer. After all, it's not like you'll be using 'em any more.
The irony here is that my ex-wife loves cats.How the hell do they do that? Self-powering a bioimplant sounds even more exciting than the holy grail of "eyesight to the blind".
--
make install -not war
Giant Medical Megacorp: We will unlock the DRM and allow you to see in higher definition for another $2000 per month.
Cat got your...eye? This makes the whole "cats eating your eyes when you die" thing even creepier.
Ginga no Rekshiya Mata Each page.
We can rebuild Fluffy, stronger than before, faster, better, able to leap from the floor to the kitchen counter where you're preparing the meat for your dinner in a single bound.
Oh, and by the way, Fluffy says you can forget about feeding her any more dry food.
mememe!!! I want a bionic cat eye implant, where do I sign up?
She needed no sight. Before we rescued her she gave birth and raised a litter of kittens. By far she was the most effective killer I have ever seen, snatching bugs and birds out of the air with terrifying accuracy.
Her downfall was when threatened she never backed down I presume because she could not see where was safest. Stood her ground against pit bull that got loose. She had to be put down because of a broken back. The dog didn't make it either after she gutted his throat arteries.
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
To quote the article, "At this point, its impulses of light they're seeing (as opposed to images), but the aim of the research is to get more information out of the chip."
That's gotta be trippy.
[J]
back in the day we'd just give that cat one of those whippy canes and some sunglasses. These modern cats are spoiled.
The only thing I look for with a story like this is a damn picture. So many stories talk about something I just want to see, but have no picture. Is it lazy journalism? Dammit, I just want to see a cat that looks like a borg, okay?
or else!
INflicted, to SEE or NOT to see... THAT is the question....
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
They should be been destroyed cately.
How'd they keep the damn cat awake long enough to figure out if it's blind in the first place?
Step 1: Procure the following herbs (approx. 25 g each):
i. English thyme
ii. Hyssop
iii. Lavender petals
iv. Damiana leaves
v. Green tea leaves
vi. Jasmine petals (fresh)
Step 2: Bring one quart of distilled water to a boil.
Step 3: Place the aforementioned herbs in the boiling water and reduce the heat to low.
Step 4: Simmer on low for 30 min.
Step 5: Realize that your cat allergy is just a manifestation of your obvious latent homosexual tendencies that prevents you from engaging in frequent sexual relations with your girlfriend.
Step 6: Throw out that stinking mess on your stove top.
If you can read this sig, you're too close.
Do they just peel them off the road, or what?
...mention both 'bionics' and 'cats', and you'll have an enormous cloud of geeks following your every step.
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
> The implants are 2-millimeter-wide chips surgically implanted in the back of eye.
> The article makes clear that the implants don't allow the cats to see -- what
> they get [are] impulses of light.
Man, and I thought tying a bell to it's tail would make the cat run around crazy! These guys are serious.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Don't just let your blind cat go wandering around outside numb nuts, go out with her and watch her so you know she will be safe. Would you let a toddler play outside by itself where it can be run over or mauled by a dog? Worse yet, a blind toddler?
This is why I always kill anyone I meet who is in any way different. Blind people, deaf people, mute people, the mentally challenged, paraplegics, people with 6 toes, basically anyone with a non-life threatening disorder who could live a fullfilling life if I didn't kill them. I just tell their families I am giving the gift of mercy and direct them to adopt a starving african child to replace their loved one.