CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Two years after they implanted an artificial vision system into a blind person’s brain, researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology are looking for more volunteers to participate in the study.
The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis system uses electrical signals from a camera to stimulate electrodes that surgeons implanted in a patient’s brain.
Biomedical engineering Professor Dr. Phillip Troyk told WBBM it’s like a cochlear implant for the blind.
The system bypasses the eyes and optic nerve, enabling a person to communicate vision information directly to their brain, Troyk said.
He said the wireless system provides crude but helpful information to a blind person.
“Even knowing where lights are in a room, knowing the shape of a doorway or knowing whether the sun is out or not are very valuable visual inputs,” Troyk added.
IIT or Illinois Tech is looking for four more participants in its research. They must not have lost their vision before the age of ten.
Click here for more information on the study.
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