Artificial Retinas Restore Sight to Blind

Host: Roy Levit, MD Guest: Mark Humayun, MD Microelectronic implants are restoring vision to the blind.Dr. Mark Humayun discusses with host Dr. Roy Levit the workings of the artificial retina and explains the surgical procedure to implant the device in the eye. The first generation of the implant only has 16 pixels while the second generation has 62 pixels. Dr. Humayun explains how the subjects who have the implant can initially see spots of light, but that the brain over time can fill in the details and many patients are able to see objects, motion and color. At this time, the implants are available only as a part of the clinical trial to subjects who are completely blind as a result of retinitis pigmentosa.