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Implant glasses for the blind

07.08.2013

The Argus device, which partially restores blind people's sight, has been approved for clinical use. The complex history of this invention demonstrates the existing problems with the procedure for the introduction of high-tech medical innovations.

The Argus device is a pair of sunglasses that integrates a video camera and an interface that connects a processor to 60 electrodes implanted in the retina. Argus works on the same principle as a real eye: it turns the image into a set of electrical impulses that stimulate the nerve cells in the retina. Thus, the signals enter the brain and are processed in the usual way, that is, they turn into a picture. Unfortunately, this technology is not a panacea for the treatment of blindness, because it requires a healthy optic nerve to work. However, with damage to the eyeball or other disorders that do not affect the nerve endings, Argus can give many people vision. The device is still imperfect - in the future, it will certainly be possible to implant many more electrodes, which will increase the resolution of synthetic vision.

Using Argus requires a complex invasive operation in which 60 tiny electrodes, mostly ultra-thin glass needles, are implanted into the patient's retina. In addition, the patient needs to wear special glasses with a processor and a video camera manufactured by Texas Instruments. The processor converts the image into patterns of electrical activity, which are wirelessly transmitted to a receiver connected to a grid of electrodes inside the eye. Then the electrodes stimulate the nerve cells in the retina, and the signals go to the part of the brain that processes visual information.

It should be noted that vision through Argus glasses differs from normal vision of a healthy person. With the help of glasses, a person sees only the edges of objects, their outlines in gray tones, but with different contrast. It is difficult to describe such a picture, approximately it looks like this: look at your room, for example, towards the window, and now close your eyes - the memories are an "imprint" and will look like what a blind person with Argus glasses sees. At first glance, this is a very poor and uninformative picture. Of course, it does not allow, for example, to read books or distinguish small details, but thanks to Argus, it becomes possible to safely cross the street, move around in an unfamiliar room, etc.

Also, experiments are currently underway to give the Argus system the ability to perceive colors. To do this, in the laboratory, the glasses processor is "taught" to create electrical patterns of red and green colors. After completing the software modification, patients will be able to distinguish between two important colors, which, among other things, mean a ban or permission, for example, at a traffic light.

A lot of blind people need devices like the Argus. But the same Argus was first introduced to the public 10 years ago and is only now approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This is precisely the problem: today, Argus microchips, made 10 years ago, are outdated, but simply replacing them is prohibited by law - after all, only old microchips are certified.

The developers have focused on the software so far, but this is not a solution to the problem. Apparently, for the widespread adoption of high-tech implants, changes in certification procedures and clinical trials are necessary, otherwise medical equipment will be a generation behind the cutting edge of scientific and technological progress.

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