To See or Not to See, That is the Question
This year, the blind will begin to see again. Well, no…that is not quite true. However, people who have gone blind from retinal degradation will be able to see light/dark, shapes, and faces if the FDA approves a new technology that was created to enable people to regain lost sight.
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System from Second Sight Medical Products is a device that will allow some blind people to begin to see again. This technology only works for people whose photoreceptor cells have degenerated, but there are over 200,000 people with that condition in America alone. After 13 years of development, a few test patients have finally been fitted with the device. The company is conducting clinical trials and Second Sight is waiting on approval from the Food and Drug Administration before they make Argus II available publicly.
A small camera embedded into a pair of sunglasses sends an image to a smartphone-sized processor, which converts the image into a black and white picture. This picture is wirelessly transmitted to the receptors surgically implanted around the eye and finally sent on to the electrodes that the surgeon carefully attached to the retinas.
Patients who receive this surgically implanted device will not be able to see the same way that other people can. They will not be able to read a book, drive, or do many other things that require precise sight. They will, however, be able to cross the street, see a person’s face, and live a more normal life. The pictures do not yet have colors and only contain 60 pixels, but the patients will be far more self-sufficient than they previously were.
Even though the technology does not yet allow for a return of normal sight, that does not mean that patients with this device cannot use a computer. Many available technologies allow visually impaired people to use a computer. Computers can be set to read text on the screen, type and print in Braille, or magnify the screen however large the person needs. If you are setting up your home computer to assist a visually impaired person and require computer support, the knowledgeable technicians at Rescuecom can help.
Even though the Argus II retinal Prosthesis System is not even available publicly yet, the scientists at Second Sight Medical Products are currently working on improving the technology to include colors. They have been able to reliably produce a few colors, but not all of them. They are also attempting to increase the number of pixels, and therefore make the picture clearer, by adding more electrodes in the eye. Both of these advances would help patients see much better when finished. Once the FDA approves this new prosthetic eye system, the visually impaired will begin to see shapes again and maybe in the future, be able to see better than people without this device.
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