Retinal Implant Project for Blind & Visually Impaired

The [B][U]Boston Retinal Implant Project[/U][/B], a spin off of MIT, Harvard Medical School and the MA Eye & Ear Infirmary has developed hardware that could help restore some normal vision. The product is an implant that have been tested in animals. Human trials beginning in 2010. The early results are very promising in retinal diseases like acute macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa where the light sensing cells in the retina may not be working. However the neurons that carry electrical signals from the retina to the brain are still healthy. The current implant is limited to only a 15 pixel image. But the Boston group is working on a version with 100 pixels and looking towards producing a 1000 pixel retinal implant in the near future. To read the full and exciting article about "artificial eyes" go to [U][B][url]http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21420/[/url] [/B][/U]for further details.