An artificial retina could restore sight to the blind, according to new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The device can be plugged directly into the optic nerve and is based on widely used cochlear implants.
The artificial retina is designed to help people with advanced macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa, progressive diseases that permanently blind patients, usually older patients.
Some drugs can delay the process, but once the cells that detect light (rods) and color (cones) die, they are gone.
The nerves behind the rods and cones do survive, however. For a patient to see again, something needs to stimulate the nerves. A mild electrical charge, applied using a self-contained, surgically implanted device could stimulate the optical nerves and allow a person to see again.
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