More On Early Artificial Eye Development
Here is a general interest article from MSNBC on early work in the development of artifical eyes: researchers are "[researchers are] implanting special silicon chips in partially blind cats in a bid to help replace or possibly repair diseased retinas in humans. ... The chips, which provide their own energy, have shown encouraging results in clinical human trials, in some cases improving sight in people with retinitis pigmentosa or at least slowing the disease's development. ... Then there are the many attempts, like Optobionics, of creating artificial sight. Some efforts include miniature video cameras that pipe images straight to the brain, devices that send signals to a network of miniature electrodes attached to the retina or chips that eventually could graft themselves to retinal cells, creating a cyborglike system for producing images." The overlap between the development of prosthetics and regenerative medicine is particularly interesting: "A French company is conducting trials for an implant that would release proteins in the eyeball to offset the damage done to retinal cells, perhaps indefinitely."