Bionic eyes are being developed to restore sight for those with blindness. Current bionic eye technology involves implanting a microchip retina that receives signals from an external camera. This allows individuals to perceive light and basic shapes. However, the technology is still limited compared to natural vision. Only one bionic eye system called Argus II is approved for use in the US, helping those blind from retinitis pigmentosa. Researchers hope to improve the technology by adding more electrodes to the retina implant and enabling color perception. Bionic eyes remain an expensive treatment option still in the early stages of development.

1. BIONIC YEY
HARITH RIYADH
AKAKI TSERRETILI STAT UNIVERSITY

2. • Blindness is still one of the most
debilitating sensory impairments with
nearly 40 million people suffering from
blindness worldwide and another 124
million affected by low vision, it's no
surprise that researchers are intent on
developing novel ways to restore sight.
One such effort is the development of a
so-called bionic eye or bionic eye implants

4. • Many of blindness patients can be efficiently treated
with surgery or medication, but some pathologies
cannot be corrected with existing treatments. In
particular, when light-receiving photoreceptor cells
degenerate, as is the case in retinitis pigmentosa, or
when the optic nerve is damaged as a result of
glaucoma or head trauma, no surgery or medicine can
restore the lost vision. In such cases, a visual
prosthesis may be the only option.

5. • Bionic eye scientists have one common
goal: to develop technology that's as
effective for visual disabilities as cochlear
implants have become for auditory ones.
But different scientists' methods for
achieving this vary. What's more, bionic
eye technology is still in its infancy
compared with cochlear implants for
hearing loss.

6. How eye work??

7. What is the bionic eye?
• A visual prosthesis, often referred to as a
bionic eye, is an experimental visual
device intended to restore functional vision
in those suffering from partial or total
blindness

8. What is the bionic eye?
This bionic eye system will consist of
• external part
• a small digital camera,
• external processor
• Transmitter antena
• Implant part
• receiver
• Electronics case
• implant with a microchip
• stimulating electrodes
surgically placed in the
back of the eye.

10. Who will it help?
• Our technology is aimed at helping people with
severe vision loss due to:
• Retinitis pigmentosa, and
• Age-related macular degeneration
• .To benefit from this technology people will
need: Some remaining retinal ganglion cellsA
healthy optic nerve and visual cortexVery low or
no visionTo have been able to see in the past,
so that the vision processing part of the brain
has developed fully.

11. • Several bionic eye implants are in
development, but currently only one is
available in the United States, and it is
suitable only for blindness caused by
specific eye diseases. However, as
research continues, more and more
people may soon benefit from high-tech
bionic eyes

12. How does it work?
• The bionic vision system consists of a camera,
attached to a pair of glasses, which transmits
high-frequency radio signals to a microchip
implanted in the eye. Electrodes on the
implanted chip convert these signals into
electrical impulses to stimulate cells in the
retina that connect to the optic nerve. These
impulses are then passed down along the optic
nerve to the vision processing centres of the
brain, where they are interpreted as an image

14. Who Can Benefit From Currently
Available Bionic Eyes?
• In the United States, the FDA has approved just one
commercially available bionic eye system. The
device, called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis
System, was developed by a California-based
company called Second Sight.The Argus II has
been used to restore some level of visual perception
to hundreds of individuals with severe retinitis
pigmentosa — a disease that affects one in 5,000
people. The Argus II also is being tested for people
with a much more common condition, age-related
macular degeneration.

15. Limitations Of Bionic Eyes
• Although the Argus II system enables people to discern
light, movement and shapes, it does not yet restore sight
to the extent some might hope. This limitation is largely
due to the fact that the current implant has only 60
electrodes. To see naturally, you'd need about a
million.However, some Argus II users can function well
enough to read large-print books and cross the street on
their own. And the company plans to add more
electrodes in future models.Another limitation of the
current Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is that it
doesn't enable users to perceive colors.

16. the company plans to add more electrodes in future models.Another
limitation of the current Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System is that it
doesn't enable users to perceive colors.

17. Figure : The retinal implant consists of a
small electronics package

18. Disadvantage
• it's expensive — costs associated with the
device and procedure add up to nearly
$100,000 and may or may not be covered
by medical insurance.
• USA . AUSTRALIA

20. Addition information
• April 23, 2004 – AP Story
• On February 14, 2013, the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) approved the Argus II Retinal
Prosthesis System, the first implanted device to treat
adults with advanced retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The
development of a retinal implant was the brainchild of
ASRS Executive Committee and Board Member Mark S.
Humayun, MD, PhD, who has devoted 25 years to its
research and development