FDA Approves Device That Gives the Blind Limited Vision

This is a major milestone

The FDA approved Thursday the first method to give limited vision to people who are blind. This system, called Argus II, allows a blind person to identify outlines and boundaries of objects with an 'artificial retina.' They may be able to detect crosswalks on the street, the presence of people or cars, large numbers or letters, and objects especially when there is contrast between light and dark, like fireworks against a night sky or black socks mixed with white ones. The system was approved to treat people with severe retinitis pigmentosa in which the photoreceptor cells, which take in light, deteriorate. Treated patients are given glasses with an attached camera (that captures images) and a portable video processor (that then translates the images into pixelized patterns of light and dark). The approval of the system marks a milestone in a new frontier in vision research. “This is just the beginning,” said Grace Shen, a director of the retinal diseases program at the National Eye Institute, which helped finance the artificial retina research. (NY Times)

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