Vision Restored for the First Time in 16 Years with "Artificial Retina"

Spanish scientists have achieved a medical breakthrough by stimulating the visual cortex of a blind woman through brain implantation, allowing her to "see" for the first time in 16 years. The procedure enabled the patient to perceive light and shapes again by using an "artificial retina" attached to a pair of glasses that directs light in front of her, according to Russia Today. The light processing then converts to electrical signals, which are sent to a series of microelectrodes implanted in the patient's brain, allowing the user to "see" the light captured by the glasses. This system was tested on a 57-year-old woman who had not seen anything for 16 years and was completely blind during that time. The advanced implantation procedure enabled her to recognize shapes and silhouettes detected by the artificial retina. The scientists wrote in a research paper published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation: "We obtained high-quality recordings from visually deprived neurons, and the stimulation parameters remained stable over time, with the patient also able to detect some letters."