Wireless Implants Promise Superior Vision Restoration

ananyo writes, quoting Nature: "The development of retinal implants has been dogged by problems of unwieldiness since the first implantable stimulator for vision restoration was developed in 1968. Now researchers have come up with a solution that overcomes many of the problems by the use of special glasses that fire infrared signals into the eye and onto an implanted array of silicon photodiodes. The system, tested in rats, simplifies what needs to be implanted and both transmits visual data and power directly to the implants, eliminating the need for any bulky external power source (abstract)."

Comments

Implanted tech

[girlintraining]

I've already heard of diabetic pumps failing when exposed to airport scanners, and those have less sophisticated electronics. I imagine if these were ever approved, we're going to have a lot of people going blind everytime they fly. The problem with wireless medical technology is part 16 of the FCC rules: It's perfectly legal to overload them with high energy RF, with potentially lethal results.

Re:Implanted tech

[Anonymous Coward]

Insulin pumps aren't implanted. They attach to you via a catheter, and are basically like a smartphone. You can unplug for a few minutes without anything happening, and for longer with a bit of preparation.

In regards to people going blind due to interference... they're already blind, so they'd just go back to "normal."

Re:Implanted array of silicon photodiodes

[dmbasso]

Interesting fact of the day: the retina is actual brain tissue that during development migrates, forming the optic nerve and back of the eye.