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How far are we from practical ocular implants? (Small cameras implanted in the eye sockets to let the blind see again through artificial means) (self.Blind)
submitted by TheSonOfWAY
I wonder why I haven't heard of them gaining momentum yet. Where are we on these?
What is the most powerful camera available that can be made at a size small enough to comfortably fit in one's eye sockets?
I also wonder whether said ocular implants could zoom in and out, record video and wirelessly transmit video files to a phone or other device. Hopefully later ocular implants could also let the user see thermal imaging, nightvision, infrared, etc.
What is the most powerful camera available that can be made at a size small enough to comfortably fit in one's eye sockets?
I also wonder whether said ocular implants could zoom in and out, record video and wirelessly transmit video files to a phone or other device. Hopefully later ocular implants could also let the user see thermal imaging, nightvision, infrared, etc.
Vaelian 8 points 6y ago
The problem is not the camera itself, the problem is the resolution. Existing implementations either stimulate the retinal ganglion cells or the visual cortex, and they are very low resolution. (around 500 pixels). The camera could easily be mounted into a prosthetic eye and powered wirelessly, as that is how current retinal and cortical implants are powered..
Personally I think that they'll find a way to regenerate the optic nerve faster than they will improve the resolution of these implants, which will open the possibility of eye transplantation.
Personally I think that they'll find a way to regenerate the optic nerve faster than they will improve the resolution of these implants, which will open the possibility of eye transplantation.
KillerLag 1 points 6y ago
With recent advancements in nerve cell regeneration with the spine, that has greatly increased the likelihood of optic nerve regeneration. But still quite a while away, it was experimental on rats.
Also, the resolution depends on which system. The Argus II has only 60 electrodes (6X10), but the Alpha IMS has 1,500 electrodes. The resolution can vary greatly due to many factors. As far as I know, the Alpha IMS is further behind in development than the Argus II. I've worked with two people who are currently using the Argus II, while the Alpha IMS is barely into human testing.
Also, the resolution depends on which system. The Argus II has only 60 electrodes (6X10), but the Alpha IMS has 1,500 electrodes. The resolution can vary greatly due to many factors. As far as I know, the Alpha IMS is further behind in development than the Argus II. I've worked with two people who are currently using the Argus II, while the Alpha IMS is barely into human testing.
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
I wasn't aware of the Alpha Ims implant. The highest resolution implant I knew was the Monash bionic eye which has 500 pixels and is a cortical implant that is going to be tested on a human this year.
My belief that we're going to have optic nerve regeneration sooner stems from the fact that these technologies, particularly cortical implants, have been under development for decades and their resolution hasn't improved that much.
My belief that we're going to have optic nerve regeneration sooner stems from the fact that these technologies, particularly cortical implants, have been under development for decades and their resolution hasn't improved that much.
KillerLag 1 points 6y ago
With our current technology, I agree that optic nerve regeneration would like arrive sooner, unless there is a sudden advance in human/computer integration technology.
angelcake 1 points 6y ago
Does the model which connects directly to the brain bypass the optic nerve? Asking because my partner is losing his vision, it presents like glaucoma but his optic nerve apparently looks like a piece of string as opposed to a piece of rope. That's how the specialist described it. Anything that potential he can help him down the road is going to have to either bypass or replace the optic nerve.
TheSonOfWAY [OP] 1 points 6y ago
> Anything that **potential he** can help him down the road
How well does your speech-to-text software recognize the need to autotype "potentially" as opposed to "potential he?"
I often use speech-to-text when I have too much to type on a phone or while driving. Whether homophones' spellings are correct, can sometimes be a toss-up. Dunno how many % of the time it guesses homophones right though. I'd guess Google's S-T-T engine is being worked on to understand context (from the rest of the sentence or paragraph) as much as possible.
But who's S-T-T engine do you use?
---
Back on-topic: I sure hope there's a way to grow new optic nerves by stem cells sometime soon, otherwise, an artificial replacement may have to do (but with what side-effects, if any?) I'd guess /u/KillerLag may answer this one better.
How well does your speech-to-text software recognize the need to autotype "potentially" as opposed to "potential he?"
I often use speech-to-text when I have too much to type on a phone or while driving. Whether homophones' spellings are correct, can sometimes be a toss-up. Dunno how many % of the time it guesses homophones right though. I'd guess Google's S-T-T engine is being worked on to understand context (from the rest of the sentence or paragraph) as much as possible.
But who's S-T-T engine do you use?
---
Back on-topic: I sure hope there's a way to grow new optic nerves by stem cells sometime soon, otherwise, an artificial replacement may have to do (but with what side-effects, if any?) I'd guess /u/KillerLag may answer this one better.
angelcake 1 points 6y ago
Ugh. That would be Siri. Sometimes she is 100% and sometimes she is as dumb as a bag of hammers. I don't have an accent and I generally speak very clearly but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I am truly looking forward to having a phone or other device with enough onboard processing power that it doesn't have to upload/download to Apple [or google] in order to work.
Stem cells, regrowing the optic nerve, would be the ultimate. I believe I read something last year that there's a clinic in Florida doing something with optic nerves and stem cells but I could never find a clear answer. If we are fortunate enough that solution will be available sooner rather than later. In the meantime, until it is, this would certainly be an acceptable stopgap measure.
Back to Siri for a moment, I use "hey Siri" in the car a lot, for navigation, weather reports, she reads my texts, my car is a little bit older so it doesn't have quite as much cool technology as the 2016 models but overall she does a pretty decent job. I usually visit Reddit on mobile as well so depending what I've got going on quite often it's easier to dictate but I do need to keep on top of my proofreading.
Stem cells, regrowing the optic nerve, would be the ultimate. I believe I read something last year that there's a clinic in Florida doing something with optic nerves and stem cells but I could never find a clear answer. If we are fortunate enough that solution will be available sooner rather than later. In the meantime, until it is, this would certainly be an acceptable stopgap measure.
Back to Siri for a moment, I use "hey Siri" in the car a lot, for navigation, weather reports, she reads my texts, my car is a little bit older so it doesn't have quite as much cool technology as the 2016 models but overall she does a pretty decent job. I usually visit Reddit on mobile as well so depending what I've got going on quite often it's easier to dictate but I do need to keep on top of my proofreading.
KillerLag 1 points 6y ago
Sorry, I got the names mixed up. The Alpha IMS is similiar to the Argus II, the one that stimulates the brain directly is an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis.
http://neural.iit.edu/research/icvp/
It does bypass the optic nerve, but they are barely in the human testing phase. At the conference I was at last year, a presenter said they had put the cortical stimulator part into the brain but hadn't even turned it on yet.
http://neural.iit.edu/research/icvp/
It does bypass the optic nerve, but they are barely in the human testing phase. At the conference I was at last year, a presenter said they had put the cortical stimulator part into the brain but hadn't even turned it on yet.
angelcake 1 points 6y ago
This is something that offers hope. Thank you for the info and I will keep an eye on how it's progressing.
Terry_Pie 1 points 6y ago
You might be interested in $1. The larger back part of the article is on hi-tech prosthetics, which is equally as interesting.
There was another article I read about 3 months back in a science or tech journal on some human tests of retinal impants in the UK. I forget which university. The bottom line was that the woman in that trial basically needed to learn to see again (just like the story I've linked) because the challenge isn't just to send signals to the brain, but to send the right signals for the right stimuli.
There was another article I read about 3 months back in a science or tech journal on some human tests of retinal impants in the UK. I forget which university. The bottom line was that the woman in that trial basically needed to learn to see again (just like the story I've linked) because the challenge isn't just to send signals to the brain, but to send the right signals for the right stimuli.
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