A new wireless brain implant designed to provide artificial vision has been successfully implanted in a third participant.
Developed over many years by a team led by the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP) system aims to create artificial vision for people who are completely blind.
Most conventional approaches to restoring sight target the retina or optic nerve; however, many people affected by total blindness have damage to these areas, so this approach does not work for them. The ICVP system bypasses the eyes and optic nerve completely, instead targeting the visual cortex – the area of the brain responsible for processing sight.
The intracortical implant features 34 wireless stimulators and 544 electrodes that deliver electrical signals directly to the visual cortex. A camera mounted on a pair of glasses captures the scene, with the visual information converted into signals and transmitted to the implanted electrodes. The system translates this...