Eye Have The Power!
Have anyone ever watched Thor Ragnarok? (Spoilers ahead) Well there is a part of the movie where Thor has one of his eyes sliced out in a battle and is unable to see with his left eye. However, in the next movie he is given a robotic eye that functions exactly like a normal eye, thus returning his vision. What if this was possible in the real world, is there a way for us to be able to replace a human eye without any difference in function?
As it turns out, scientists are already working on creating a prosthetic eye using a neuroprosthetic that could one day replicate the performance of a human eye. According to this article, the neuroprosthetic manipulates neurons involved in sensory pathways by circumventing damaged neurons and creating a new pathway that is able to transmit electrical signals to the undamaged neurons. These signals would then theoretically travel through the central nervous system to the brain where the data can be processed.
In the case of the human eye, the neurons that are being targeted are photoreceptors. Photoreceptors are responsible for converting light into electrical signals, which are processed by the brain. If they are damaged then there is no way for a person to see clearly. This is where the neuroprosthetic comes into play. According to this article, the prosthetic would use a pair of glasses equipped with a camera to record images and translate those images into light and dark pixels. These pixels are then converted into electrical signals which would be sent to an electrode implant located behind the retina. This electrode would then stimulate the surrounding photoreceptors, which would send a electrical signal to the brain where vision is processed. Essentially, this prosthesis would act as an artificial photoreceptor that takes in light and translates that light into electrical signals like a normal photoreceptor.
As many of you can see, this technology could be very useful in helping people that have impaired vision or are blind. However, according to this article, the prosthetic is only able to translate images into dark and light pixels. This means that a person wearing this device would only be able to see the difference between light and dark. While this may seem useless, many people would love to be able to have access to this kind of technology. The future is bright in the field of neuroprosthetics, this technology is still very new, but the bionic eye will provide people with the gift of vision and allow them to possibly live a normal lives. If the new eye is successful, this could open up numerous possibilities for this field, and scientists could even start to begin to look at using neuroprosthetics as a means to solving other problems involving the nervous system. In conclusion, the idea of a fully functional prosthetic eye in the future is not unreasonable.
Posted by Nicholas Georgette (2)
Using technology to trigger photoresceptors to allow a person with impaired vision to see light and dark is fascinating . There are different levels of severity to blindness this technology could greatly impact the quality of life of many people. I hope in a few years this research can reach the level where people can put this technology to use.
ReplyDelete-Fredjah Desmezeaux
Thank you for your comment on this post! As it turns out, the neuroprosthetic discussed in this post is already being used by people. Many of the people that use the prosthetic are close to or are completely blind. They have reported that using this technology has helped them navigate their environment with more ease. So while the technology is not quite the way we want it, it is still being effectively put to use in the real world.
DeletePosted By: Nicholas Georgette (2)
I wonder if the whole eye would have to be completely taken out. And it also seems like this kind of technology in the next 10 years or so could very well evolve to being much more complex than just letting the person see light and dark. I feel like it wouldn't be unreasonable to believe that this has the potential to make someone have full functional vision. It seems very promising.
ReplyDeleteLiz Clark
Hi Liz, thank you for commenting! I honestly never really considered the process that goes into installing this device. The article that I used in this post did not mention the of removal of the eye from its socket during the installation of the device. From what I understand, there are multiple surgeries that are involved when placing the implant on the retina. I will have to do some research on my own to see the process behind this surgery.
DeleteThank you again!
Posted By: Nicholas Georgette
I agree with you that this technology will not only help many with impaired vision or blind, it will also pave way for many more advances in the prosthetic field. Although the current technology with the prosthetic eye only allows for differentiating light and dark, this is already very helpful for many. This is also the first step into developing more advanced neuroprosthetics.
ReplyDelete-posted by Emily Wong
It still amazes me how much technology has evolved, if this prosthetic gets developed it could maybe lead to better updated versions of it. It is so great just the idea that if it works it could help so many regain their vision or even help those that were born without eyesight and allow them to see what we see.
ReplyDeletePosted by Genesis Figueroa