Intracortical artificial vision prosthesis in development

An intracortical visual prosthesis designed to transmit images directly to the brain of a blind person, bypassing the eye’s optical system, is being evaluated in animal studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Phil Troyk and colleagues based their device on the principle that visual images can be transmitted directly to electrodes implanted in the brain, and these impulses can be translated into recognizable form, the article stated.

Backed by a $3.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the researchers could begin human testing of the device as early as 3 to 5 years from now, Mr. Troyk told the newspaper.