Retinal Implants
Researchers at Bonn University are developing a way of helping people who suffer from blindness. When light enters the human eye, it will eventually reach the retina. In the retina there are two types of photoreceptor cells, rods and cones. Cones allow us to see color and are effective in bright light. Rods are more effective in low light and allow us to see better in the dark. When light reaches the retina, the photoreceptor cells convert the light into nerve signals, which travel down the optic nerve, and into the brain where these signals are interpreted. When the retina becomes damaged, a person's vision will be damaged as well.
Now, there might be a way to help people with damaged retinas through the use to retinal implants. A thin foil is implanted at the retina with contacts that reach the ganglion cell layer. The ganglion cell layer is a layer of ganglion cells that receives information from the photoreceptor cells. A camera will send signals from the surroundings into the "Retinal Encoder," which converts the camera signal into a signal that the brain can use. This signal will be received by the contacts and will be sent into the optic nerve. The person will then be able to see an image on a screen in the glasses.
However, there are still many issues with this. One problem is that the brain might not be able to interpret the signals sent to the brain by these implants. In the first few months after we were born, our central visual system is adjusting to the retinal signals and our brain is constantly learning how to interpret those signals. With the retinal implants, a new set of signal is sent to the brain and so it must now learn how to interpret them. For adults, their central visual systems are already developed, which makes it difficult for it to learn interpret a new set of signals. Another issue is that these implants will not restore a person's vision completely, it will only allow them to see large objects and contours.
Although more research and testing is still needed, this looks to be very promising in the future.
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posted by PWH @ 11:19 PM
24 comments
24 Comments:
This sounds like a very hopeful and useful new technology. It will help thousands of people around the globe, especially when most consider sight the most important sense. Great article! Do you know when they are planing to use this technology?
-lis6
Great topic. I was a little confussed when you said the person would see an image on a screen in the glasses. What I imagined from your description is that the person has an implant in the back of their eye(s) which sends signals to the brain. My thoughts are that the person would then be able to see the object in front of them and I don't understand the point of the glasses.
Other than that, I thought this was a well-written essay.
-mccannc6
This seems like a very creative idea, however I don't know how promising this really sounds. There is a wide variety of reasons a person could be blind. There are a lot of possibilities; retinal disease, glaucoma, injury, genetic, cataracts the list goes on. So I don't think that throwing signals at the brain is the best way to approach this issue for everyone, but in certain situations it may have its applications.
Can the retinal insert only be used in cases of photoreceptor degradation? I guess I am a little confused as to what the retinal foil is replacing (photoreceptors, bipolar cells, amacrine cells, ganglion cells, etc.). The retinal insert is described as having connections with the ganglion cells. I would assume that this plate is acting as a surrogate for deteriorated photoreceptors or bipolar cells (as a result of cell damage caused by retinitis pigmentosa or another photoreceptor degenerative disease). What if blindness is caused by damage to ganglion cells, the optic nerve, or areas of the occipital lobe (and innervating neuronal projections)? I would assume that the retinal foil can not be used in these conditions. Is it possible for the foil to correct other kinds of retinal diseases, for instance coroideremia (CMH). Research conducted by Bryan Krock (2007) has suggested that degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) may cause CHM. As the RPE underlies cone/ rod photoreceptors (and other cells-bipolar, amacrine- with connections to the ganglion and optic nerve) its degradation may indirectly lead to blindness. Would the retinal implant be useful under these conditions?
--AKE
Retinal implants seem to be a highly advanced method of repairing vision. Retinal implants may be very effective in allowinig the blind to experience some of our world visually. However, implants may be both costly and harmful. Aside from running at a high price, some individuals' visual systems may not react properly to the new signals. As stated our visual systems are already programmed, so it could cause a potential reaction from the body that furthers the damage of the eye. Yet if such things are prevented, implant methods could still be a viable option for aiding the blind.
youngm7
This was a very interesting topic. I particularly liked the way you presented all the background information on how the human eye works, so to ensure the fact that your reader will be able to follow along easily. It was also very good that you expressed the uncertainty of this science, for it is still in the testing stages. The only thing to improve upon is the wording of the actual process of retinal implants. At certain spots it became confusing with the terminology. Overall very interesting and informative.
This process seems very difficult to develop. The article’s link on retinal implants describes how it was hard for an adult to distinguish simple shapes. A professor at Bonn University states that “ ‘The camera generates electrical signals, which are almost useless for the brain.’ ” I think a lot of development is necessary and possible alternative methods must be sought out. However, this is a complex process and technology is limited. This may be the best route for helping blindness even though it seems like it will take a long time to develop technology that could meet the standards of significantly helping those who suffer from blindness.
This seems like a very insteresting idea, however the way that researchers will be able to have the brain interact with this new technology will be interesting to see if it is possible and what type of brain implant or changes, if any, might be necessary to advance this new technology.
- Strambe6
This article was pretty interesting. The whole idea of retinal implants seems a bit confusing though. It would be really great if people who were blind would be able to see. My question is, would this work on people who are already completely blind, or just people that are partially blind? Also when you were describing how the implants would work I was a bit confused. Where is the camera and the “retinal encoder,” are these a part of the contacts? I think it sounds like there is a lot of work to be done on this product but that it is promising and could potentially be very useful!
Posted by KMellman
Intersting topic. I am a little confused about the whole image on glasses concept. If the person is blind then this would not be of any help. I'm guessing that I am simply not understanding the wording. Perhaps clarify this point a little more. This sounds promising but it appears that the apex of this technology is still a long way from working human vision. Could this technology help the person interpret distance, would the color depth anywhere near that of regular vision?
-tokard7
The research seems to be a great idea with wonderful intentions, but I question how far the techonoogy can go with this. Your blog is very concise and I appreciate that and contained all the essential information needed to understand the research and article. Read the blog outloud once more, but overall great grammar. I could only pick up "...it to learn ^HOW TO^ interpret a new set of signals."
Some questions I would ask of the research are: Will the person be able to completely see the large object, details and all or will it still be blurry? And to what extent of blindness could the technology help someone?
---happyfeet
I think that such a transplantation would really be helpful and beneficial to society.Especially today when people are subjected to high levels of ultraviolet radiation damaging the eye and computers and televisions. I am surprised to learn that interpreting the retinal signals would have to be learned by the adult recieving the transplant. It would be interesting to know how different these signals are from our retinal signals.
-timoteo
I feel that this article discusses a great issue. Many families have history of glaucoma and diabetes etc. which affect eye vision. Also, there are millions of people with vision that is corrected. I think this is a promising issue because it I for one will most likely be losing my eye sight as I age and I do not want this! I do feel that it is going to be very tricky to find the right signals to send to the brain for optimum performance. I think that there will be prominent research in great ideas like this one but costly.
I find this very interesting and I feel that this research could make a very big impact. I did not understand if the patient would have to wear glasses along with the surgery? or be able to see with just the implant? It was very well written and explained all aspects well. It was an interesting topic that I'm sure everyone can relate to through someone.
Good essay! This topic was very interesting and the theory is very creative, perhaps with a little adjusting it can actually happen! I think you should take into account what causes certain people to have different problems.
While this is a great discovery in medical science, it will probably take a while for this kind of surgery to be affordable in comparison to how affordable lasic eye surgery currently is. It is a very interesting topic however and it will be interesting to see if it eventually surpasses the success that lasic eye surgery has seen. However, it also seems a little iffy due to the fact that it is so closely involved with the brain and therefore could cause huge problems if not performed correctly. Very interesting topic and well written blog.-antonss6
This is a very interesting topic.What i like about this posting is that it not only gives the advantages of this implant, but also says the disadvantages of it. This gives the reader more insight and how useful the implant could be.The way the post is written it makes interesting to read.
This is great news for all the people who can't see and are dependent on others for most risks.
One of the problems with the implants is that the brain can't interpret some of the signals because it is already atuned to a certain signal meaning something. That happens during the early months of development. So if a child is born blind, and the implant is given to him in the first couple of weeks of life, does that mean he would be able to see much better, and interpret the signals better?
Also, could research modify the converter of images to brain signals, so that people can interpret the images better? Is that a possibility
ivanr6
This new technology will help people who can't see because of retinal damage. The problem though is how to convert these images into signals that the brain undertstands. I've seen a video pertaining to this subject in my bio 101 class. The person using this technology was able to drive a car and see objects although not colored, but perfectly visible. This technology is very interesting because it opens up other ideas. This idea could be applied to any diseases or injuries that has a problem with the nervous system.
-Dan Carlo F. Flores (floresd6)
This sounds like it will really help people out in the future. I really think it is going to be a great piece of technology. I think it is amazing that this will help people see better all around the globe especially since we know how importnent vision is to us. I would jsut want to know a little morw about the negative effects that it can have on your vision too if somehting goes wrong
Amazing technology! Do you think that we will someday be able to restore color vision as well? You say that a clear foil is placed upon the eye, I wonder how this technology really works. And, furthermore, have they pinpointed the threshohold for how old you must be when you lose your sight for this technology to work for you?
wagnere6
It's amazing what science is able to do. Even though the vision wouldn't be perfect it would still be an improvement on seeing nothing at all. Very interesting article; well written. Do you know how many people have tried this so far?
I am curious about something mentioned in your essay. Is the retinal implant there to improve the use of the rods and cones? I ask because if you do not have accurate use of the rods and cones could you still be able to see. If the rods and cones affect seeing color and seeing better in the dark, is a person still able to see and not be blind. Hopefully there can be some success you of this.
-- morgank5
This was a very interesting and well written blog. I find the topic of retinal implants extremly intriguing. Thus I would like to learn more about it. What type of "further research" are they doing currently. I would also like to know more about the implants themselves. What exactly are they? How exactly do they work? And how do they send/ connect the signal from the implant to the brain?
Overall this was a very interesting topic. Where might I be able to find more information on the topic?
Thank you,
JMcNeill
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