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Wednesday, 12 July 2006 09:06

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Scientist's 'cure for blindness'

Dr Mathieson, from Glasgow University's physics department is developing a prosthetic retina in a bid to restore types of blindness.

Using technology similar to that found in digital cameras, the tiny device would be implanted into the eye to stimulate a retina that was no longer working.

It is designed to help people with age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, conditions that affect about a million people in the UK. These conditions are caused by failure in the retina - the part of the eye which converts light into signals that are sent to the brain.

Dr Mathieson said: "By implanting a device into the eye, we hope we will be able to fool the brain into believing the retina is still in working order”.

The chip would assist about one million people in the UK with age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.

Dr Mathieson said: "Advances in microelectronics have allowed us to develop a small device to be implanted on the retina itself.

"The device would contain an imaging detector.

"If light forms an image on the detector, then the result will be electrical stimulation of the retina in the shape of this image.

"The stimulated cells then send the information via the optic nerve to the brain."

The implant prototype has 100 pixels but the team hope that number will increase significantly as their work progresses.

Dr Matheson said: "Around 500 pixels would allow people to walk down the street and recognise faces.

"Beyond where we are today it might be possible to make smart chips which have memory in them which would allow action replay and slow motion”.

John Legg, director of the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) Scotland, welcomed the work of the scientists. "It will, however, be some years before this research bears fruit," he said.

"In the meantime, RNIB Scotland will continue to campaign to ensure that existing treatments are promptly and uniformly available to all whom might benefit”.

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