Camera fi tted bionic eye devices for patients

MELBOURNE: Australian
scientists are close to deliver
one of the bionic eye devices
to be tested on patients
in about two years.
The bionic eye device
will consist of a tiny camera
mounted into a pair of glasses,
which acts as the retina;
a pocket processor, which
takes the electronic information
from the camera and
converts it into signals.It
enables the brain to build up
a visual construct; and cortical
implants of several tiles
which will be the portal for
the stimulation of the visual
cortex.
According to statement
by Monash University, research
to restore sight to the
clinically blind has reached
a critical stage, with testing
underway of the prototype
microchips that will power
the bionic eye. Electrical
engineers from the Monash
Vision Group (MVG) have
begun trialling the microchips,
with early laboratory
tests proving positive, and
pre-clinical assessment due
to begin shortly.
The Director of MVG,
Arthur Lowery said the
positive result meant the
project was on track to deliver
a direct-to-brain bionic
eye implant ready for patient
tests in 2014. “The aim
for this vision prosthetic
is to be at least equivalent
to a seeing-eye dog or a
white cane. While it would
initially complement existing
aids such as these, we
believe the device eventually
will replace them, and
as the technology is further
refi ned, become suffi ciently
sensitive to discriminate
large print,” Lowery said.
“The microchips we are
testing will be implanted
directly on the surface of
a patient`s visual cortex,
located at the back of the
brain. It`s estimated that
each patient will receive
a grid of up to 14 eightby-
eight millimetre tiles,”
Lowery said. Each tile
comprises a four-by-four
millimetre microchip with
some 500,000 transistors
and 45 hair-thin electrodes.
When fully operational,
these tiles will receive lowresolution,
black-and-white
images from an external
digital processing unit connected
to a high-resolution
camera. Jean-Michel Redoute,
MVG`s Programme
Leader, Implantable Electronics,
said one of the
project’s main challenges
was harnessing and powering
this array of electricallycharged
devices in the brain.
“Achieving acceptable
vision requires far more
electrode capacity than the
amount required to power
a bionic ear. While the bionic
ear requires approximately
15 electrodes, we’ll
need at least 600 to produce
useful vision for patients,”
Redoute said. Over 50,000
people in Australia are considered
clinically blind. The
number exceeds 160 million
globally.