Pixium Vision, a firm out of Paris, France, won the EU CE mark of approval to introduce its IRIS II bionic vision system to people who are suffering from outer retinal degeneration. The system relies on a camera embedded into a special pair of glasses and a 150 electrode epi-retinal implant surgically positioned next to the eye.

The camera obtains an image that is converted into electrical signals and transmitted to the implant that stimulates the nerve cells of the inner retina. Unlike a traditional image sensor, the camera inside the glasses has independent pixels that are not updated on a clock, but instead are continuously recognizing changes. Essentially, the system acts like the mass of photoreceptor cells that it effectively replaces, providing people basic vision capabilities when there would otherwise be none.

The implant is both removable and upgradeable, potentially leading to improved vision in people who are actually losing their natural abilities.

hi-news.ru