Microchip technology could restore vision

An American online news source reported that Richard Normann, professor of bioengineering, physiology and ophthalmology at the University of Utah, spoke at Visions 2000, the American national conference on blindness in Florida last Friday. The chip, a quarter-inch square of silicon, would be implanted into the brain to stimulate the area which controls vision. The patient would wear a pair of spectacles equipped with video cameras. Images from the cameras would be converted to signals to be transmitted to the chip. The chip would give limited vision but the patient would be able to read enlarged print and walk across a crowded room without help. It would not be suitable for all types of blindness, but the chip could help people who lose their vision when the photoreceptors fail. A patient suffering age-related macular degeneration would be a candidate because although the retina no longer works, the optic nerves in the brain can still receive and transmit signals. Mr Normann told the conference that although the vision chip had been studied since the 1960s, computer advancements had accelerated research work. Other US and international groups are experimenting with the use of microchip implants on the retina, but the technology will not be available for at least 10 years. 'This technology is still in its infancy, but clearly there is reason for hope and enthusiasm. There's a huge amount of visual processing ability just sitting there waiting to be tapped into,' Mr Normann said.