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A Light-Powered Retina Implant For the Blind
the_newsbeagle writes: In certain diseases of the retina, people lose function in the photoreceptor cells that respond to light and trigger a message to the brain. So engineers have designed various retina implants that do the job instead, including the Argus II system, which received the first FDA approval for an implanted visual prosthetic in 2013. But the Argus II only produces vision of about 20/1200. A new implant in the pipeline from Stanford University has already achieved 20/250 vision in rats, and is aiming at 20/120, which would be below the legal threshold for blindness. This implant is photovoltaic, so the same infrared light that beams an image of the world into the implanted chip also powers its electronics.
Cardiology has nothing to do with this. Cardiology is about hearts, not eyes....
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
20/20 basically means "A person can read at 20 feet with a person with generally good vision should be able to read at 20 feet."
And 20/1200 basically means "A person can read at 20 feet with a person with generally good vision should be able to read at 1200 feet."
They're not fractions. They represent a comparison against what "normal" healthy vision can see vs. what you can see at 20 feet. 20/20 means you can see normally. 20/120 means you can see at 20 feet as well as healthy eyes could see at 120 feet.
and they will lose their federal benefits.
They are not random ratios, they refer to actual distances, and focal points mean you can't simply change it. People don't care what you can see at 1 ft, they care what you see at 20 ft.
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Need a better seeing eye? So, what'l it be? On the high end we have the fashionable Borg and Terminator models. If you're looking for something a little less flashy, we have the used LED model. Now, let's try one one for size. Oooh. Can you see okay? No, the bright red laser doesn't look at all creepy. It's kinda cute.
*obligatory Apple reference*
I can't imagine they'd implant something with the types of chemicals capacitors or batteries use, inside the eye or skull (there's a lot more room in the chest, for pacemakers and such). Would their being powered by light preclude the ability to see at night?
Successful troll is successful.
How do you know how far a rat can see? Get them to read a Snellen chart?
surely this better merits a Futurama reference.
Is an ayePhone the same thing as an ayeayePhone? Does Charo have an ayayayPhone?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Bah, unsustainable! Only Coal, Oil, and Natural Gas can supply the clean, affordable power Real Americans need to see.
Next they'll be wasting our tax dollars on wind, tidal, and hydro powered implants.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
To make that easier to visualize, a person with 20/1200 vision can read at 4 inches what a person with generally good vision should be able to read at 20 feet.
People don't care what you can see at 1 ft, they care what you see at 20 ft.
I prefer to read a book at 1 ft, you insensitive clod.
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CrimsonAvenger: 0
The inches/feet ratio makes it harder to visualize.
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I'm very excited by new technology that can actually help the visually impaired.
I find it distressing how much effort and expense is put into measures supposedly for the benefit of the disabled but which are clearly for appearances, and which inconvenience the population at large, humiliate the disabled, and actually do little or nothing to help them achieve any greater degree of independence.
This, however, sounds awesome.
Called by another poster on the self-powered camera story recently.
Technically you just described a fraction. :P
But that's a different measurement.
If someone is short sighted, they may not be able to focus on something 20 feet away.
They may have perfect vision at a distance of 4 inches.
I prefer to read my book at 304.8mm, in insensitive imperial clob
A person can read at 20 feet with a person
Personally, I fail to see the benefit of having two people reading with each other, especially if one of them is required to have crappier vision.
Unfortunately the size of the photostatic coupled with the low efficiency means the rats will be requiring copious amounts of suntan lotion.
*facepalm*
Your visual acuity is expressed in a fraction - such as 20/20 vision.
I hope they can have two of these ready when Roseanne Barr does lose all of her central vision. There's just no justice in the world if she's the only one on the planet who doesn't have to look at her face.
How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
Thought the fuss about "glassholes" was bad - we ain't seen nothing yet. Combine stuff like this with ability to record - possibly for assistance with memory problems - and replay through the eyes, or send elsewhere.
Might be interesting to see what the US cops do, probably forcibly confiscate and destroy people's eyes for looking at them funny...
I jumped at the summary because my uncorrected vision is actually 20/1200. Without my glasses, everything is blurry as shit but I can distinguish large shapes. Colors blur together at the edges. I can navigate a lit room just fine, but I wouldn't feel comfortable driving: all traffic signs appear as just a blob of color. It would be a huge improvement over blindness.
Pair reading. It's like, totally agile and stuff.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."