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Microchip A Breakthrough To Blindness |
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Microchip a breakthrough to blindness
New York City, New York - November 5, 2010
A new device is allowing some blind people to see. It's a breakthrough that could one day change the way doctors treat blindness.
Miikka Terho hasn't able to see for more than 15 years -- until now. In 1992 Terho was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa or RP. The condition destroyed his retina, but today he is able to see black and white images thanks to a tiny microchip. Surgeons implanted it behind his eye. It now does the work of the retina, processing light and sending signals to the brain.
Scientists say this bionic eye procedure is more advanced than others because it relies on the eye itself to transmit images. "I like this microchip because it fits under the retina and it uses the retina's own circuitry to create an image," said Dr. Shantan Reddy with New York University's Langone Medical Center.
The device has been successfully tested on three people. Scientists are now planning larger studies and hope the technology will be on the market in five years. That's good news for Jonathon Abro. He has RP and the condition is slowly destroying his vision. "Anything that is helping us people who can't see properly or not all see is fantastic," Abro said.
"This has great potential to help this group of patients," Dr. Reddy said.
And doctors hope this device will lead to treatments for other forms of blindness.
Ines Ferre - CBS News
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