Research group from the Illinois Institute of Technology: “Completely blind patient recovers vision to the point of distinguishing objects”
Posted on 04.26.2024 at 5.35pm Posted on 04.26.2024 at 5.35pm Modified on 04.26.2024 at 5.52pm Views 3
[사진=Illinois Tech 홈페이지 캡처]Amid ongoing attempts to change the daily lives of quadriplegic patients by implanting computer chips into their brains, research results have shown that the vision of blind people who had a chip implanted in their brains was partially restored.
A research team at the Illinois Institute of Technology recently announced the outcome of surgery on a patient who had a chip implanted in his cerebral cortex. The patient in question is Brian Bersard, who lost his sight completely in 2016 due to retinal detachment.
According to the research team, after undergoing chip implant surgery in 2022, Bersad has recovered his vision to the point where he can now “identify objects in a room and lift a plate.”
Professor Philip Troich of the Department of Biotechnology at the Illinois Institute of Technology, who oversaw this research, explained: “Rather than saying that Bershard ‘recovered’ biological sight, he was closer to artificially creating sight.”
When we “see” an object, it is the result of visual signal processing. Light from an object is picked up on the retina and converted into an electrical signal. This signal travels along the optic nerve to the visual cortex located at the back of the brain, where the object is interpreted and recognized.
The research team hypothesized that patients would be able to recognize objects by directly stimulating the visual cortex, bypassing the optic nerve. To achieve this, 25 small stimulator chips that emit weak electrical currents were implanted in Brian’s brain. One chip has 16 electrodes thinner than a hair.
The camera mounted on Bersard’s glasses processes the object with special software and transmits it to the electrodes, which activate 400 electrodes and move the signal to the visual cortex. The research team explains that through this process Versad is able to distinguish objects in the form of opaque spots.
Professor Troick said: “It is expected that the more electrodes on the implant chip and the stronger the current, the better the visibility, but current above a certain level can cause side effects such as seizures or damage to the brain tissue”. he added: “The optimal current considering performance and stability. We have to continue to find our level,” he underlined.
The durability of the implant chip is also a key factor. Professor Troyk said: “The chip implanted in Bersad is simply a mechanical device and cannot be said to be semi-permanent. “Follow-up research is needed to determine how long the current visual enhancement effect will last,” he added.
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