Cure for the Blind is a Microchip in the Eye
By Jared Newman
The retinal implant, being developed at MIT and elsewhere, puts our list of gadgets for the blind to shame. After getting the implant, patients wear a pair of glasses containing a tiny camera. The camera feeds images to the chip, which in turn sends the signal straight into the brain. The implant apparently restores just enough eyesight to recognize faces and navigate a room. Of course, setting up the implant is no simple task and risks damaging the eye, so researchers are no working on the chip’s longevity, with the goal of having each implant last 10 years. There’s competition, too: The University of California Santa Cruz has been developing this technology since 2002. May the best implant win, and actually make it to market. [via Wired]
