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One Step Closer to the Bionic Man

by Terrence O'Brien on April 24, 2007 at 12:11 PM

bionic eyeThe 'Six MillionDollar Man' may be ready sooner than you think.

U.S. Scientists are conducting research that may one day lead to the creation of a bionic eye. This optical prosthetic could one day restore vision to those who suffer from glaucoma and other vision-inhibiting diseases.

After training monkeys to look at points of light, researchers inserted ultra-thin electrodes into their brains to stimulate the areas that process visual information. The scientists were able to cause the monkeys to move their eyes the same way they would when following the points of light.

Plenty of hurdles must be overcome, however. In order to create a high enough resolution image for humans to recognize patterns in the real world, the number of electrodes implanted will have to be increased by a factor of at least 100.

Eventually, the patient would wear a pair of glasses with a built-in digital camera that would wirelessly transmit data to a device inside the brain. This device would stimulate the electrodes implanted in the visual cortex to -- finally -- create images that represent what's going on in the real world.

Not quite Steve Austin's X-ray-like vision, but a mind-blowing possibility nontheless.

From BBC


Tags: bionic, prosthetic, prosthetics, Six Million Dollar Man, SixMillionDollarMan, vision

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