A brain implant can restore visual perception to the blind, allowing people to detect motion, distinguish light and dark with a wireless device, reports CBS News.
Dr. Nader Pouratian, a neurosurgeon at UCLA Health, was the principal investigator of a five-year clinical study of Orion, an experimental device geared to people who were once able to see but lost their vision due to disease or injury.
Orion converts images captured by a tiny video camera mounted to sunglasses into a series of electrical pulses and sends data through a handheld device to an implant that has been surgically inserted into the visual part of the brain.
The implant then turns the images into dots of light for the person to see.
“This is the first time we’ve had a completely implantable device that people can use in their own homes without having to be plugged into an external device,” said Pouratian.
“It helps them recognize, for example, where a doorway is, where the sidewalk begins or ends or where the crosswalk is. These are all extremely meaningful events that can help improve people’s quality of life.”
Just six people in the world have qualified for the study.
"The first time that I saw a little white dot, I was speechless," said Jason Esterhuizen, who lost his sight in a car accident at 23. "It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
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