It may sound like an idea out of the future – or, conversely, out of a 1970s’ TV show – but the bionic eye is a device that is available now. No, it won’t give the wearer infrared vision or the ability to shoot laser beams, but it will do something else that’s pretty amazing: It will help the blind be able to see again.
The device is made by Second Sight, a California-based company, and it was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February for marketing to patients with retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that leads to blindness over time. With this disease and in other conditions that cause blindness, the photoreceptors in the eyes are unable to transform light into electrochemical impulses that are sent through the optic nerve to the brain, which converts that information into images.
The eye implant helps to correct that malfunction to help wearers able to see images again.
The Argus II Bionic Eye Implant
The Argus II bionic eye is more like an eye implant system than an actual eye. The system actually has three parts. There is a small electronic implant, a small camera and a video processing unit. Sunglasses with a built-in camera are worn that transmit light to the implant, and the processing unit helps to provide communication between the two.
The system helps to do what the damaged photoreceptors in the eyes can’t: Translate the light the eyes see into images. However, the images are not what the people will remember from their sighted days. The images are said to be in black and white, grainy, and more like flashes of light. Some have described them like the images on an old black-and-white TV set. The implant creates images that are more like place markers than clearly defined objects.
Though researchers say that a few patients have been able to see letters, they are very large and reading seems to be a far-off goal. More realistically, patients are able to use the implant to make their way around a room, to be able to see where they are walking, and to be able to navigate objects.
However, a rival company is working on another bionic implant that promises to have greater clarity. The implant will have 1,024 electrodes, compared with the 60 electrodes of the Argus II. It may yet be several more years before the second implant is completed and ready for market though, so it will be some time before the results are clear.
Applications for the Eye Implant
Patients who suffer from degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa are best suited for the implant. Other conditions include glaucoma or eye injuries – such as in accidents or in war. However, any condition or injury that involves damage to the optic nerve would not be able to be helped by the implant. That’s because the implant relies on the optic nerve to relay the signals to the brain to translate into images.
So far, 30 people in the United States have received the eye as part of a clinical trial. However, it was approved for use in Europe in 2011.
Besides availability, pricing may be a limiting factor for many. The device costs as much as $100,000 in Europe – not including the cost of some rehabilitation and care – but a pricing structure has not yet been announced in the United States.
Still, even with its limitations, it’s amazing what the eye can do, and it’s sure that there will be many people lining up for the opportunity to see again for the first time in years.