Blind woman gets artificial vision thanks to a brain implant. The implant allows the patient to see shapes and letters after 16 years of being in darkness.
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A Spanish woman has lost her sight due to a rapidly progressing condition that affected her optic nerves. But with the help of researchers and a small device implanted in her brain, specifically in the her visual cortex, has taken the first steps towards restoration of its appearance. The most impressive thing is that this is done without using her eyes.
Η Berna Gomez was faced with a special situation when she was diagnosed with optic neuropathy at the age of 42. The condition progressed rapidly and worsened the condition of the Spanish woman's optic nerves, causing her blindness within days. In 2018, at the age of 57, Gomez decided to voluntarily try out an implant in her brain to see if her vision could be helped. Indeed, thanks to researchers from the University of Utah and Miguel Hernandez University in Spain, Gomez may have a chance to restore her vision to a significant degree.
This was achieved using an implant known as Moran|Cortivis Prosthesis. The device, which consists of 96 individual electrodes, is implanted directly into the patient's visual cortex. Once in place, the implant's electrodes can create specific combinations to deliver "images" directly into the patient's mind.
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According to the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the implant successfully presented images ranging from bright spots and horizontal lines up to some capital and small letters.
In the last part of the tests, Gomez wore special glasses with a built-in camera that scans the objects in front of her and stimulates different combinations of electrodes in the implant. The result is the creation of simple images.
This is a huge achievement in terms of restoring vision. Unlike retinal implants, this method completely bypasses the receiver's optic nerve and provides information directly to the receiver's vision centre brain. This provides the ability to deliver images to patients despite any conditions that prevent their optic nerve from communicating with their brain.
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The results are very encouraging and the University of Utah researchers claim that their research aims to give a blind person greater mobility. It may allow them to recognize a person, doors or cars easily. It may increase the independence and the Security of these individuals.
The researchers hope that studying the implant in more brains will eventually allow a combination of stimuli that will produce even more complex visual images.
Source: TechSpot
