3/30/2010 PERMALINK
Wide-view neurostimulator 'bionic eye' will soon be implanted into first recipient in Australia. A prototype bionic eye, developed by BVA researchers at the University of New South Wales and unveiled today at the BVA consortium’s official launch at the University of Melbourne, will deliver improved quality of life for patients suffering from degenerative vision loss caused by retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. The device, which is currently undergoing testing, consists of a miniature camera mounted on glasses that captures visual input, transforming it into electrical signals that directly stimulate surviving neurons in the retina. The implant will enable recipients to perceive points of light in the visual field that the brain can then reconstruct into an image.