Prosthetic retina restores sight in mice after brain's visual code is cracked

http://www.nature.com/news/prosthetic-retina-helps-to-restore-sight-in-mice-1.11164

by ananyob • 14 years ago

68 9 14 years ago

nature.com

sanxiyn• 14 years ago

Wake?! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_(Robert_J._Sawyer_novel)

Eyght• 14 years ago

I want my laser robot eyes. I might also need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle, for later.

gtani• 14 years ago

Parallel procedure described in this book, reattaching optic nerve to intact retina, if I remember correctly.

http://www.amazon.com/Crashing-Through-Story-Adventure-Dared...

metatronscube2• 14 years ago

This is wonderful, I'm excited we are entering an age where its now becoming normal to use technology to augment or repair the human body. Rather than our old approach of letting medical science bodge a repair or remove faulty body parts, we are turning to Scientists and Engineers to design prosthesis and build replacements. Given a few years, would it be possible to design a better retina?

sp332• 14 years ago

old approach of letting medical science bodge a repair

This is not even close to how medical science works. You really think surgeons, technicians, physical therapists etc. aren't scientists and engineers?

lysol• 14 years ago

To be fair, a technician is categorically not an engineer or scientist. They're a technician.

metatronscube2• 14 years ago

Well, considering my recent dealing with doctors and surgeons on this very subject of retina surgery...yes. I had torn retinas and the surgeon (who was very intelligent, and super nice) said that he is nothing more than a 'mechanic' since all they can really do at this stage is to 'tack' the torn parts of the retina back onto the back of the eye like a 'welder'. Their words, not mine. Surgeons generally defer to research scientist and engineers to carry out the research and cutting edge techniques, they practice those techniques on patients. Not belittling their work, but its research that comes up with this kind of stuff, not practicing doctors and surgeons.

ananyob• 14 years ago

Citation and link to abstract for those interested in such things (also in source). Nirenberg, S. & Pandarinath, C. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207035109 (2012).

Prosthetic retina restores sight in mice after brain's visual code is cracked

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