Bionic eye: Technology being developed in several countries to help the blind see again – Some time ago, there were a number of unique sheep in Australia because they had very sharp eyesight.
The small flock of sheep wore bionic artificial eyes surgically implanted behind their retinas for three months last year.
The sheep are part of a medical trial aimed at helping people with some types of blindness regain their sight.
The device used is called the Phoenix 99. The sheep trials were specifically designed to see if the device would cause any unwanted physical reactions, as bionic eyes are thought to be better tolerated by animals. As a result, an app has been created to begin testing on human patients.
The project is run by a team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, Australia.
The Phoenix 99 connects wirelessly to a small camera attached to the glasses, which then stimulates the wearer’s retina.
The retina is a layer of cells at the back of the eye that is sensitive to light, converting light into messages that are sent to the brain via the optic nerve so that they are processed into what we see.
Phoenix 99 is able to pass through damaged retinal cells, then ‘fish’ for cells that can still function properly.
“There was no unexpected reaction from the tissue around the device, and we expect it to remain in place for many years,” said Samuel Eggenberger, a biomedical engineer at the University of Sydney’s School of Biomedical Engineering.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 2.2 billion people worldwide suffer from various types of visual impairment ranging from mild to blindness.
This condition costs the global economy more than US$25 billion (Rp. 358.5 trillion) per year due to lost productivity.
Bionic eye systems to treat blindness is a very young industry, but with the technology advancing rapidly, the sector is expected to be worth US$426 million (Rp6.1 trillion) by 2028.
“Advances in technology have redefined ophthalmology,” said Dr. Diane Hilal-Campo, a New Jersey-based ophthalmologist.
“Innovation not only makes diagnosis easier and more accurate, but also changes patient care for the better,”
As an example, he pointed to a bionic eye called Argus II implanted in more than 350 people worldwide and developed by US company Second Sight.
An early version of the Argus II was first used on patients in 2011, and works in a similar way to the Phoenix 99.
Second Sight is now developing a new product called Orion, which is a brain implant. The company says Orion aims to treat nearly all forms of blindness. However, the project is still in the early stages of clinical trials.
Other bionic eye systems include Prima, developed by French company Pixium Vision, and the Bionic Eye System developed by another Australian company, Bionic Vision Technologies.
Dr Hilal-Campo said one of the issues at the moment was the high cost of the technology, making bionic eyes “accessible to only a select few”. The Argus II, for example, costs around $150,000.
Meanwhile, considering that the technology is still in its early stages of development, the results are not yet close to perfect.
“I believe this technology has changed the lives of patients who are lucky enough to have it,” said Dr Hilal-Campo.
“But currently, the technology is limited, only allowing the perception of light and shadow, or there is a certain limit to the form.”
“I am optimistic that in the years to come biotech companies will continue to find new ways to restore sight to people who are blind.”
Bhavin Shah, a London-based ophthalmologist, agrees that bionic eyes still have a long way to go.
He compared the technology to the digital camera, which was first invented in 1975. It took decades to become widely available.
“I believe that once the quality of the technology reaches the appropriate standards and approaches the vision achieved by a healthy eye, it will become more accessible,” he said.
“But, in any case, blindness must be prevented in the first place.”
Technologies that detect and diagnose vision impairment, Shah explains, are likely to have a much broader impact in the short term.
“[Now] there are diagnostic tools that are more sophisticated, easier to use, more reliable, and interconnected,” Shah said.
“For example, we can quickly scan different structures inside the eye, examine them in higher resolution, and share them quickly with colleagues. Artificial intelligence can also make decisions [about this]. In some cases faster and more reliable than experienced doctors.”
Dr Karen Squier, an associate professor and chief of vision services at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, believes it is the smallest things that are the most important developments in eye care technology.
He gave the example of the accessibility features on the iPhone, which allow users to get an audio description of what is on their phone screen, from the battery percentage, who is calling, to what application is being used.
Dr Squier also highlighted Microsoft’s Seeing AI app, which uses a smartphone camera to identify people and objects, then describe them in sound.
The app can also detect barcodes and tell you what the item is, or read handwriting like a letter from a grandchild.
“That’s probably the technology that people are most excited about because you can do so many different things with the camera and software that’s already on your phone,” Dr Squier said. “It’s usually pretty easy for people to learn how to use.”
In the long term, he believes the benefits of the technology can be maximized by integrating it into disability-friendly public policies and infrastructure.
For example, using technology that can warn visually impaired passengers about bus schedules, inform them that a bus is on its way, and avoid disruptions at bus stops.
That’s not to say Dr Squier doesn’t think more advanced technology – including bionic eyes – won’t have a significant impact in the future.
“I just feel like even if the bionic eye is developed in the right direction, we’ll have to see what happens next.”
