Dianne Has Sight with 'Bionic Eye'

A team of doctors from the Bionic vision Australia has recently implanted a 24 electrode device into the patient Dianne Ashworth at the Royal Victorian Eye and ear hospital. Ashworth was suffering from retinis pigmentosa which is a hereditary condition.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Retinis pigmentosa is an uncommon condition affecting about 1 in 4,000 people in the United States."

The bionic eye that was implanted in May was switched on last month after she recovered from the surgery.

"All of a sudden I could see a little flash. It was amazing," said Ashworth, 54, as quoted by Telegraph.

Bionic that changed Ashworth's life was designed by the Australian researchers involves inserting a device that has 24 electrodes into the retina of the visually impaired patient, which also has a small wire that extends from the back of the eye to a receptor that is attached behind the ear. And these electrodes are responsible for transmitting the electrical impulses to the nerve cells in the eye.

It helps in restoring the device by electrically stimulating the parts of the brain that is responsible for sight by using a small camera that is attached to the retina of the visually impaired.

As quoted by The Australian, Bionic Vision Australia chairman David Penington said, "The results had given the group confidence. Much still needs to be done in using the current implant to 'build' images for Ashworth. The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices."

Designed with an aim so that the blind patients can have independent mobility, the scientist say that this device helps to restore mild vision during which the patients are able to view contrasts and edges such as light as dark objects.

There 90 electrodes being used for Asworth's implants. But according to the Sydney Morning Herald, "Information obtained from the prototype testing will help researchers refine two more sophisticated devices, with 98 and 1024 electrodes."

"It took us back to 1978 when we first switched on the (first) cochlear implant patient," Bionics Institute director Professor Rob Shepherd was quoted in Sydney Morning Herald. "The scientists would work closely with Ms Ashworth to determine what she sees when the retina is stimulated."

"The team is looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets this information," Shepherd said quoted in Sydney Morning Herald. "Having this unique information will allow us to maximise our technology as it evolves through 2013 and 2014."

Who will benefit from the bionic eye? According to the Bionic Vision Australia group website: To benefit from this technology, patients need to have a functional visual pathway from the retina to the brain along the optic nerve, as well as some intact retinal cells. As such, the two medical conditions that this technology aims to address are retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

According to smithsonianmag.com blog, there are a lot of bionic eye designs in the market. A Los Angeles-based group is selling bionic eyes called Argus II in the European Union.