The bionic eye is an implant placed in the retina which receives video information from a miniature video camera worn on glasses. It can help give partial sight to patients who became blind from retinal diseases such as retinitits pigmentosa.
A patient from Camarillo recently asked me a question about a bionic eye she had heard about on the news. Was the bionic eye a form of LASIK? While today’s most modern format of wavefront LASIK often allows us to help our patients see better than they’ve ever seen with glasses or contacts, the term “bionic eye” as used in the news actually refers not the newest advancements in LASIK, but to an amazing implant used to treat blinding retinal diseases.
The “bionic eye” that has recently been in the news is called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System and was created by Second Sight Medical Products. It was recently approved by the FDA to help people with a degenerative, blinding retinal disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The Argus II uses a miniature implanted camera, a small electronic implant, and a video processing unit which all work to convert images of the world into electrical stimulation which allows the brain to perceive sight.
In a healthy person with good eyesight, there is a layer in the back of the eye called the retina. The goal of a procedure like LASIK or PRK is to let the front of the eye precisely focus light onto the retina in the back of the eye. Once the light hits the retina, there are cells called “photoreceptors” which are stimulated by the light to produce electrochemical impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain, where vision occurs. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods (for dim light and peripheral vision) and cones (for detailed color vision).
In certain retinal degenerative diseases, this process no longer works. The Argus II “bionic eye” implant is designed to bypass this process and send image information directly to the brain. First, a miniature electronic device is placed around and in the eye. The patient then wears glasses containing a very small video camera. This camera sends video information to a small computer called the video processing unit (VPU). The VPU processes the video data and sends it back to a wireless transmitter mounted on the glasses which transmits a signal to the implant inside the eye. The implant gives off electrical signals which stimulate the remaining neural mechanisms in the retina, which then allows the information to be sent to the brain.
It turns out the bionic eye is helping patients with these debilitating retinal disease beyond our best expectations. An exciting new study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology looked at 21 blind patients who received the Argus II “bionic eye” implant. About 75 percent of these patients were able to identify single letters and more than half of those could even read four letter words.
See Also
World’s Only Bionic Eyes Keep Getting Better
Fox News article about the Argus II implant, the “bionic eye.
“The Argus II Retinal Implant
Second Sight’s manufacturer’s website on their Argus II Retinal Implant.
The Argus II Epiretinal Prosthesis System Allows Letter and Word and Long Term Function in Patients with Profound Vision Loss
British Journal of Ophthalmology article showing amazing results with the Argus II Implant.
Device Offers Partial Vision for the Blind
New York Times article about the Argus II helping blind patients to see.
Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System H110002
FDA website reviewing its approval of the Argus II.
FDA Approves First Bionic Eye
CNN discussion of the “bionic eye” for treating blind patients