2. Introduction
What is an Artificial Eye
The Working of Normal Eye
The Working of Artificial vision
Components
Normal vs. Artificial Eye
Advantages and Disadvantages
Future scope
Conclusion
Reference
3. There are 10 billion people in the US who are blind or
facing blindness due to diseases of the retina and
there’s little that can be done for them
For the vast majority, their best hope is through
prosthetic devices.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has
market approval to an artificial retina technology, the
first bionic eye to be approved for patients in the U.S
4. Scientists claim to have developed a new revolutionary
bionic eye that enables blind people to read letters and
simple words.
In the mid-20th century, researchers began to explore
the idea of creating an artificial eye which could
actually see.
5. An artificial eye is a prosthesis(an artificial body part) which
is used to replace a missing or damaged eye.
In order to accomplish the goal of creating a visual
prosthesis, scientists had to develop a camera which
could interact with the brain by stimulating the optic
nerve.
There are two types of artificial eyes:
1) Visual prosthesis, functioning implant designed to
restore sight
2) Ocular prosthesis, non-functioning cosmetic
replacement for a lost eye
6.
7.
8. The scattered light from the object enters through the
cornea.
The light is projected onto the retina, then the retina
sends messages to the brain through the optic nerve.
And the brain interprets what the object is.
9. After seeing an image the brain takes information from
the outside world and encodes it in patterns of
electrical activity.
After creating the pattern, the brain get a visualization
of an image so that we can actually see the image with
our own eyes.
10.
11. The bionic vision system consists of a camera,
attached to a pair of glasses, which transmits high-
frequency radio signals to a microchip implanted
in the eye.
Electrodes on the implanted chip convert these
signals into electrical impulses to stimulate cells in
the retina that connect to the optic nerve.
These impulses are then passed down along the
optic nerve to the vision processing centers of the
brain, where they are interpreted as an image.
Patients need to have a functional visual pathway
from the retina to the brain along the optic nerve
and some intact retinal cells.
12.
13.
14. 1. Artificial Silicon Retina
Tiny device of diameter 2mm and 1/1000 inch in
thickness, thinner than human hair developed by Dr.
Alan Chow and Dr. Vincent Chow,
It is a microchip containing 3500 photo diodes which
contains approximately 3,500 microscopic solar cells
called “Micro Photodiodes,”
They are designed to convert the light energy from
images into thousands of tiny electrical impulses to
stimulate the remaining functional cells of the retina in
patients suffering with vision lost or retinitis
pigmentosa conditions.
15.
16. 2. ARGUS-II DEVICE
The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System(“Argus
II”) is the world’s first approved device
intended to restore some functional vision for
people suffering from blindness.
It transmits images from a small, eye-glass-
mounted camera wirelessly to a microelectrode
array implanted on a patient’s damaged retina.
17. It is made of a small electronic device implanted in
and around the eye;
A tiny video camera attached to a pair of glasses;
And a video processing unit that is worn or carried
by the patient.
18. a) Digital Camera
The camera used for this is the CMOS(complementary metal-
oxide-semiconductor) image sensor.
The camera captures the image and converts it into
pixels of black and white.
This camera is placed on the goggles.
The battery required for this is provided from the
video processing unit.
19.
20. b) Video Processing Unit
Video Processing Unit acts as a optogenetic
transducer unit which simplifies the image as
spots of light and then reduces the image to the
number of photodiodes.
This is connected to goggles through router.
The VPU consists of:
1. Video decoder
2. Video scalar
3. DSP processor
4. Video processor
21.
22. c) Retinal implant
Electrode implantation is one of the most critical jobs in this
artificial vision system
The first step done in this electrode implantation is
perforating a platinum foil with each hole having a diameter
of 3mm
68 flat platinum electrodes of 1mm diameter are pierced
through the holes into the nucleus of neurons of the occipital
lobe
Each electrode is connected by separate Teflon insulated
wire to a connector contained in the pedestal
The group of wires pass the electrical impulses which are
generated by the processor
When the electrode is stimulated by the processor by
sending an electrical impulse, the electrode produces closely
spaced phosphene(light spots seen by visual field)
By sending the electrical impulses in different combinations
and permutations the phosphene can be created in a regular
fashion describing the image
23.
24.
25. Normal Eye:
Begins when light enters and strike on
photoreceptor cells.
These cells convert light to electric impulses that
are sent to brain via optic nerves.
Artificial Eye:
The camera captures images and sends to retina
implant.
It stimulates neurons.
The stimulated neurons send information to the
brain via optic nerves.
26. Advantages:
Ability to perform visual tasks demonstrated in many
patients
Upgradable external hardware and software to benefit
from future innovations
The brain has an amazing ability to adapt to new input
and to improve his or her understanding of what is
being “seen” via an artificial vision system.
Disadvantage:
The cost of device is too high( $1500)
It is difficult to acquire this technology by
common man.
27. Using ULSI technologies, the device can be
further reduced in size
ULSI stands for ultra large scale integration,
which refers loosely to placing more than about
one million circuit elements on a single chip
28. People suffering from low vision to those who are
completely blind will all benefit from this project
Currently this technology is used only in the US
and in some economically stable European
Countries
Right Now the Retina Implant surgery is not yet
available in India but the Indian Government with
the help of the ministry of health are preparing for
the project to start next year ending even though
the price of the surgery might be exorbitant.