Researchers have set their sights on bypassing the normal routes of bionics to hook video cameras deep into the brain, allowing the blind to see. The bionic eye system has already proved promising in monkeys.
The goal is to one day provide vision for blind people using twin video cameras worn as a pair of glasses that transmit signals wirelessly to an implant in the brain.
Decades of studies have tried to develop prostheses that restore sight.
One approach generates images by electrically stimulating healthy neurons in the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the inner eyeball, and thus mimicking the effects of inbound light. The other aims to electrically stimulate cells in the cerebral cortex, the outer layer of the brain where visual signals are processed. Both approaches have drawbacks and have achieved limited success. To see the rest of the story, go to: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269010,00.html?sPage=fnc.science/humanbody.
No comments:
Post a Comment