Scientists Test Brain Implant That Could Help Blind People See
Summary
Surgeons at Rush University Medical Center performed the third implantation of an experimental wireless brain device designed to provide limited artificial vision to people with total blindness. The device sends electrical signals directly to the brain’s visual cortex; researchers are testing whether it can help users complete visually guided tasks, but it does not restore natural sight or enable reading or face recognition.Key Facts
- The device, called the intracortical visual prosthesis (ICVP), was developed by a team led by the Illinois Institute of Technology.
- The ICVP aims to bypass the eye’s retina and optic nerve and send information to the brain’s visual cortex.
- The third implantation took place on October 29 during an FDA-approved preclinical phase of the trial.
- Surgeons implanted 34 stimulators containing a total of 544 electrodes in one participant.
- For the third surgery, surgeons targeted specific brain locations for the implants; placement in the first two surgeries was left to the surgeons’ discretion.
- The first implantation took place in 2022 and the second in 2024; the project began in 2000.
- The device is intended to produce crude artificial vision that may support visually guided tasks, not natural vision, reading, or watching television.
- The article reports that the three participants had no residual medical side effects from surgery to date and were discharged the day after their operations.
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