Dean Lloyd uses Argus to see. His daughter, Lisa, who has the same disease, may be a future user.

The blind in Europe have reason to rejoice, the world’s most advanced artificial retina has just received the CE Mark, approved for use in new patients. The Argus II, developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and marketed by Second Sight, is on sale in the EU, but still awaiting FDA approval here in the US. Luckily, clinical trials are already underway and we could get the amazing device here soon. With the Argus II, blind patients use an external camera to pick up video that is wirelessly transmitted to an electrode array surgically implanted in the eye. While full vision is not restored, the 60+ electrodes allow for some distinction of outlines and other basic shapes. Definitely an improvement over blindness. In celebration of Argus’ success in the EU, and in anticipation of approval in the US, I’ve collected a few new videos for you to enjoy. The first two show you real patients: Dean Lloyd and Barabara Campbell, are part of Second Sight’s clinical trial, living with and seeing through the Argus II. They’re followed with more videos that give a better explanation of the device through new animations. Check them all out below. With the CE Mark obtained, it may only be a matter of time before the Argus II could help millions around the world who have been blinded due to retinal disease. As these devices get better, the blind will become the next generation of cyborgs. Who knows, perhaps one day soon we’ll move beyond simply repairing human senses and venture into augmenting them.

Here’s a very recent interview with Dean Lloyd, Argus II trial user in the US, taken by CBS News. Dean’s daughter, Lisa, suffers from the same disease that robbed him of his vision. Seeing him regain some of his vision through the Argus has given her hope. In the unfortunate circumstance that she should lose her vision in the future, perhaps it will be when the Argus is finally available for sale in the US.

Here’s a clip from Reuters that explores the tale of Barbara Campbell, another early adopter of the Argus. This video’s a little older, but it’s great to see another happy patient learning to see again with their new artificial retina.

It’s been almost a year since my last compilation of Argus videos. The technology is still the same, a camera embedded in a pair of glasses records the world in front of the patient. A wearable computer takes that image and transforms it into a basic series of impulses. That pattern is transmitted to the Argus II implant which rests inside the eye, and which is attached to the back of the eye through an electrode array. Here’s Gregoire Cosendai of EPFL (the research institution leading Argus adoption in the EU) discussing the device. He makes an interesting point towards the end that the nearest term improvements are likely to be in software. Hopefully that software could be ported to early Argus II adopters so they don’t miss out on the improvements.

In case the graphics in the above video weren’t enough, here’s the official animated description from Second Sight:

Gregoire Cosendai went further into detail about the Argus II at a recent TEDx conference, you can watch that 18 minute video here. For those who want to take a tour through Lawrence Livermore’s labs where the device is developed, this video will satisfy.

Although software improvements may arrive first, hardware upgrades are also on the horizon. The Argus II operates with about 60 electrodes in its array. That’s 60 points of data for your eye to interpret. The Argus III, currently under development at LLNL, should have 200+ electrodes. Perhaps considerably more. It will take a thousand or so to make out human faces accurately, but the Department of Energy is pushing LLNL towards that goal, and beyond.

As slow as the progress in artificial retinas has been, it shows no sign of stopping. There are other projects outside of the Argus series, at least two (one in MIT, another in Germany) show serious promise, and even have superior qualities to the Argus in some respects. I have no doubt that we could, eventually, reach a resolution that equals that of the human eye. Perhaps, with a different kind of interface, we could even see in greater detail than nature intended. Certainly improvements in cameras would allow future Argus users to see farther than normally sighted individuals. Cybernetics could seriously augment human senses, and in fact, the German artificial retina already does this in a limited way.

Yet the development of artificial retinas is not the only game in town, and there’s a chance the progress towards cybernetic augmentation will be derailed…by advanced biology. It looks like it may be a race between artificial retinas and stem cell treatments to see which can restore normal human level vision first. Hans Keirstead and his team are exploring stem cell therapies that should be, all things being equal, on a time table to compete with the cybernetic developments at LLNL and elsewhere. No matter who wins that competition, millions of blind people the world over will benefit. And, while most of these therapies focus on conditions that injure the retina (such as retinitis pigmentosa) there are more treatments that could compensate other forms of blindness. Watching the videos above gives me hope that humanity may cure blindness once and for all. That day isn’t here yet, but it seems nearer all the time. Congrats to Second Sight and Argus for conquering Europe. FDA, you’re next!

[screen capture: CBS News]
[video credits: CBS News, Reuters via Dr. Marion Thorpe on Facebook, EPFL News, Second Sight]
[source: Second Sight]

Will MIT's retinal implant prove to be superior to the Argus II?

Way back at the beginning of the year we told you about the Argus II, an artificial retina that was helping some blind people to see. MIT researchers from the Retinal Implant Research Group led by John Wyatt are developing their own retinal implant that works along much the same principles. As reported in IEEE’s Transactions on Biodmedical Engineering, Wyatt and his team are currently testing the implants for viability in the eyes of pigs. He hopes in the next three years to move to a new prototype and human testing. However, the Argus II is already there with 20 human patients currently testing those devices.

Diseases like macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa are responsible for around 25 million cases of blindness worldwide. Retinal implants have the unique ability to bypass the damaged retinal tissue and stimulate the optical nerves that still function. In this way, the blindness is replaced with a very simplified vision that many users define as hazy and limited. Still, tests for the Argus II have allowed some patients to cook, make out shapes at sporting events, and move more easily through their homes. Current artificial retinas are clearly in their infancy, but as these devices are improved in the next few decades, they may serve as a means to restore near-perfect vision.

Distinguishing between the MIT artificial retina and the Argus II isn’t easy. They both use cameras or sensors embedded on glasses to record visual information that is sent to a processing pack. That pack then wirelessly relays the information to an electrode array implanted directly on the eye. As the electrodes stimulate the optic nerve, patients should see a limited series of light and dark spots that correspond to the original visual information from the glasses. The MIT artificial retina may have a superior casing structure, made of titanium.

MIT will not place it's electrode array directly on the retina, hopefully avoiding damage during implantation.

The biggest difference between the two implants is where the electrodes attach. While the Argus array is placed on the retina, the MIT implant will be connected subretinally. This will reduce the risk of tearing during implantation. This difference may have important implications as complications during operation could affect long term viability (the MIT team wants the implant to last more than 10 years). In most other ways, the two devices are remarkably similar.

Except of course that Argus II seems to be years ahead in terms of producing a marketable product. Besides the fact that the MIT implant is still being tested for safety while the Argus II is in human trials, there’s also the issue of image resolution. The next version of the device, Argus III, is slated to have many more electrodes in the array (1000 vs. the current 60) which will greatly increase the level of detail available to users. The MIT implant, with 15 channels, has a ways to go to catch up.

Yet, even if the MIT device seems to be lagging behind the Argus, it’s good that there is more than one team in the race. Teams, which we should emphasize, are both making good progress even if they are at different stages. The Argus II, as we’ve said before is being tested in 20 patients with remarkable results. The MIT implant has been proven to be safe in pig eyes for at least 10 months, and the programming algorithms have been thoroughly tested. Both teams are well funded and have the potential to create a viable product at some point in the future. For the millions of blind people who suffer from retinal problems, who makes a retinal implant isn’t so important as long as it gets done.

[photo credit: Shawn Kelly, MIT]

The link below will launch the video, but beware…this video crashed our browser more than once:

BBC Bionic Eye Video

For those that want a refresher on the bionic eye (aka the argus II artificial retina), it is an array of electrodes that is surgically implanted onto the retina – the layer of specialised cells that normally respond to light found at the back of the eye.  This array of electrodes is able to send signals to the brain that the person’s biological retina is unable to send.  Of course, the electrode array is not very useful unless it is receiving visual data to send to the brain.  To solve this problem the patient is fitted with a pair of glasses that contain a tiny video camera that continuously records footage of what is in front of the patient.  This video signal is sent wirelessly to a wearable computer that first filters and processes the video signal and then feeds this formatted data to the electrode array.  A picture of the entire setup can be seen below:

Although this current bionic eye is impressive, what we really want to see is the next generation implant, dubbed the Argus III.  The Argus III promises a an electrode array with 1000 electrodes, vs the 60 electrodes present inthe Argus II.

Even with only 60 electrodes of bandwidth, the Argus II provides impressive vision to people that are otherwise completely blind.  From the BBC story:

Ron, who has not revealed his surname, told the BBC: “For 30 years I’ve seen absolutely nothing at all, it’s all been black, but now light is coming through. Suddenly to be able to see light again is truly wonderful.  I can actually sort out white socks, grey socks and black socks.”

Not only will this technology improve significantly in the coming years, but it is not inconceivable that eventually these implants will actually surpass natural human vision capability.  In the meantime, there is still much work to be done.   One of the greatest challenges seems to be ensuring that the implant can remain in the eye for decades or more without causing scarring, immune system responses, and general degredation from daily biological wear and tear.

The future is literally looking brighter everyday for the millions of people across the world who suffer from blindness.