Researchers create retinal implant

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), led by electrical engineering professor John Wyatt, are working on a retinal implant that could one day help blind people regain a useful level of vision.

The eye implant is designed for people who have lost their vision from retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration, two of the leading causes of blindness. The retinal prosthesis would take over the function of lost retinal cells by electrically stimulating the nerve cells that normally carry visual input from the retina to the brain.

Such a chip would not restore normal vision, but it could help blind people more easily navigate their way round a room or walk down a street.

The research team, which includes scientists, engineers and ophthalmologists from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, the Boston VA Medical Center and Cornell as well as MIT, has been working on the retinal implant for 20 years. Recently, however, the team reported a new prototype that they hope to start testing in blind patients within the next three years.