Device may help blind people see
Inventors in belgium have created a device that might enable thousands of blind people to see. The invention includes a small video camera mounted on eyeglasses.
Blindness can occur for many different reasons. One reason is damage to the retina,the membrane that lines the inner eyeball. The retina picks up visual messages in the form of light. Then it sends those message to the brain through the optic nerve. If a person's retina is not working, messages are not sent to the brain.
The belgian scientists created a tiny electronic device that takes over of a damaged retina . They implant the device inside the blind person's head, just behind the eye. The patient wears a pair of glasses with a little video camera mounted on them. The camera takes pictures and sends the images to the implant in the head. Then the implant electronically stimulates the optic nerve, sending the visual images to the brain. The scientists have tested the device in two patients. The results have been promising.