Retinal Implant

At MIT, a professor leds a team with 20 yrs of retinal implant research to a discovery of a prosthesis that can one day help bring back a useful level of vision to certain groups of blind people. This implant is design for individuals who have suffered from blindness due to either retinitis pigmentosa or age-related macular degeneration. It electrically stimulates nerver cells that control visual imput from the retina to the brain. This prosthesis is different than those of other research groups because it attaches outside the eye and electrodes are implanted behind the retina. This surgical procedure is less than invasive than others and wont damage the eye.

Technology that promises and threatens to alter our lives!

Author of Neuroengineering the Future and Digital Design, Bruce F. Katz believes that there is a revolution in neuro science that will greatly reshape our views of perception, cognition, emotion and personal identity. Advancement in the study of neural systems and intersecting technologies is quickly changing from perceptual aids to technological devices that will enhance and speed up thought. According to Katz, this may free the mind from its bound state in the body to a platform independent existence.