[Nfbf-l] Retinal implant restores vision for eight blind people - the Alpha IMS system

[Alan Dicey]

Retinal implant restores vision for eight blind people - The Verge
Greetings,
Seen on the AccessUK group, go to the site for pictures, YouTube, other
links, I am pasting the text in following the end of gordon's post.

From: Gordon Keen.
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:34:33 +0000

It may be getting closer.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/21/4012480/alpha-ims-retinal-prosthesis-restores-vision-for-eight-blind-people

Retinal implant restores vision for eight blind people

Last week we heard about the Argus II, a device that can restore partial 
sight to some blind people, and this week a new retinal prosthesis is 
promising to go one step further. While the Argus II relies on glasses, an 
externally-mounted video camera, and a separate processing box, the Alpha 
IMS system detects light coming into the eye via electrodes implanted 
underneath the patient's retina, before feeding it into a microchip that 
sends the signals to the brain. The brain then processes the data as it 
would organic signals from a healthy eye, and the patient sees a black and 
white image. There's also a dial fitted behind the ear for adjusting 
brightness, and the whole system is powered wirelessly by a pocket battery.

Developed by researchers at the University of Tübingen, Germany, the Alpha 
IMS has a few benefits over the Argus II. It has 1,500 electrodes compared 
to the Argus II's 60, offering much higher resolution and clarity. Because 
it's implanted behind the retina, patients can look around naturally by 
moving their eyes - the Argus II requires its wearer to turn their head.
It's also able to take advantage of the "natural processing power" of the 
neurons in the retina, which help to process motion and contrast. The Alpha 
IMS can't help everyone, unfortunately. Only patients that lose vision 
through diseases that destroy the eye's light-detecting cells are able to 
benefit from the prosthesis - if the vision-processing parts of the nervous 
system are damaged then the device has nothing to send its data to.

Patients were able to recognize fine details like facial expressions

Nine patients have already been fitted with Alpha IMS prostheses, of which 
eight implants were successful. The final patient's optic nerve head was 
touched during surgery, resulting in implant failure. First-hand accounts 
from the patients successfully fitted with the implant have extremely 
encouraging. Close-up, previously-blind patients were able to detect mouth 
shapes such as smiles; the absence or presence of glasses on the face of a 
passer-by; objects such as telephones and cutlery; and even finer details 
such as signs on doors. In the far-vision range, patients could make out the 
horizon line, houses, trees, and rivers. Cars were located based on their 
bright reflections, while at night one patient was able to recognize moving 
cars by their headlights.

It's obviously early days for the Alpha IMS. Following the nine-patient 
pilot, additional testing has begun at centers in the U K, Hong Kong, and 
Hungary, with a focus on discerning the long-term stability and safety of 
the implant. Researchers are also hoping to develop teaching methods to help 
improve patients' visual recognition abilities.
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With Best Regards,
Alan
Miami, Florida
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