FOCUS REEARCH NEWS British woman regains sight with light sensitive chip
A British woman has spoken of her joy being able to see for the first time in 16 years, after receiving the world’s most advanced ‘bionic eye’. Rhian Lewis, 49, underwent an eight-hour surgery at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK, when a 3 x 3mm chip was inserted into her right eye behind her retina. This chip contains 1,600 light sensors that send electrical signals to nerve cells; the information is then processed by a tiny computer that sits behind her ear. Lewis was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa – a disorder that destroys photoreceptors in the retina – when she was five. She is completely blind in her right eye and has virtually no vision in her left eye as a result of the condition, for which there is no cure. However, behind the destroyed photoreceptors she still had an intact optic nerve and all the brain wiring needed for vision, making it possible to restore vision if only a way could be found to substitute the function of the photoreceptors. The chip, developed by German engineering firm Retina Implant, captures the light entering the eye, stimulating the nerve cells of the inner retina to deliver signals to the brain through the optic nerve. The device is connected to a small computer that sits underneath the skin behind the ear. This is powered by a magnetic coil, which is applied to the skin from the outside and looks similar to a hearing aid. The device is then switched on once everything has healed after the surgery.
When the device is first switched
on, patients will see flashes of light, but over a few weeks the brain converts into shapes and objects to build up an image. One test involved Lewis looking closely at a large cardboard clock to see if she could tell the time correctly. She has not been able to tell the time with her right eye in 16 years.
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‘Now, when I locate something, especially like a spoon or a fork on the table, it’s pure elation,’ said Lewis. ‘It’s really just pure joy to get something right, because I’ve never done it before, well, not for the last 16 or 17 years anyway.’
The chip has 1,600 pixels, but the image is refreshed regularly as the eye moves. Although this is not many pixels compared to a standard phone camera, the chip is connected to the human brain, which has
more than 100 billion neurons of processing power.
Using dials on a wireless power supply held in the hand, Lewis can adjust sensitivity, contrast, and frequency to obtain the best signal for different conditions.
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www.photonicsolutions.co.uk FEBRUARY 2016 l ELECTRO OPTICS 11
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