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ICYMI: Cheaper exo suits, radical plane design and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-132582{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-132582, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-132582{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-132582").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Berkeley robotics company is building exoskeleton suits for children with neurological conditions. Australian scientists are testing an implantable bionic eye. And a Ukrainian inventor is proposing to redesign planes with a detachable section that could land safely in case of an in-flight disaster.
British pensioner's central vision restored with Argus II 'bionic eye'
Second Sight's Argus II bionic eye has already helped hundreds of patients around the globe with a rare disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP) to see again. And yes, that includes several Americans who've gotten the system after it was approved by the FDA in 2013. Now, doctors at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital have proven that it also works on another kind of degenerative eye disease: age-related macular degeneration (AMD). They've recently attached an implant onto the retina of Ray Flynn, an 80-year-old retiree who had lost his central vision due to the condition. Unlike retinitis pigmentosa, which could occur in anyone regardless of age, macular degeneration is one of the most common causes of blindness in adults 30-years-old and above. Also, AMD takes away a person's central vision, while those with RP usually lose their peripheral sight instead.
FDA clears Argus II 'bionic eye' for sale in the US (video)
Those in the US suffering from blindness due to retinis pigmentosa (RP) will now be able to regain some vision bionically for the first time ever, thanks to Second Sight's Argus II retinal prosthesis. The device was just approved by the FDA for sale stateside after surmounting the same hurdle in Europe almost two years ago -- though it was first launched long, long before that. RP is a rare genetic disease that inflicts 100,000 or so Americans, destroying photoreceptors in the eye while leaving other cells intact. By implanting a device on the retina that receives a signal from the eyeglass-mounted camera, those cells can be stimulated as if receiving light, causing them to transmit an image to the brain. Due to the limited number of electrodes, patients would only be able to discern light or dark, but most have reported better functionality with the device -- being able to make out the shape of a curb while walking, or discerning between light, grey or dark colored socks, for instance. The Argus II has been certified by the FDA for "humanitarian use," meaning there's "reasonable assurance" that it's safe, and should start popping up in specialized clinics by the end of the year. [Photo credit: Associated Press]
Insert Coin: Prosthetic eye digital camera (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. Nobody with binocular vision would consider replacing a functional natural eye with a digital camera. But Tanya Vlach's vision is monocular, after losing one of her eyes in a car accident. A matching ocular prosthesis gives the San Francisco native a normal appearance, but it's unable to provide vision -- in its current state, at least. Vlach turned to Kickstarter for donations that would allow her to install a unique, waterproof in-eye camera, theoretically capable of transmitting 720p HD video wirelessly to a mobile app, and zooming and capturing still images using a blink-activated sensor. Features also on the wish list: facial recognition, a dilating pupil that changes based on light, infrared / UV capture, and geotagging, just to name a few. The embedded camera obviously can't replace a natural eye, but it certainly brings more life to an otherwise useless cosmetic shell. Vlach needs to raise $15,000 by August 3rd in order to achieve her funding goal and commission an engineer to design the new optic. Donations of less than $5,000 will be rewarded with a variety of small-ticket items, while a pledge greater than that amount will net the donor their very own "souvenir eye camera" -- whatever that means. You can jump past the break for a video explanation from Tanya, who may very well be on her way to being the first human to use a digital pseudo-bionic eye.
Bionic eye closer to human trials with invention of implantable microchip
We've had our eye -- so to speak -- on Bionic Vision Australia (BVA) for sometime, and with the invention of a new implantable microchip it's coming ever closer to getting the bionic eye working on real-deal humans. The tiny chip measures five square millimeters and packs 98 electrodes that stimulate retinal cells to restore vision. Preliminary tests are already underway, and clinicians are in the process of screening human guinea pigs for sampling the implants -- the first full system is still on track for a 2013 debut. In the interest of future success: here's mud in your eye, BVA! Full PR after the break.
Second Sight retinal prosthesis cleared for sale in Europe, a better one already in development
We'd bother with the obvious, but there's no sense in acting exasperated that this thing is finally shipping -- let's just be glad it didn't take a day longer, shall we? Second Sight, a California-based company aiming to help those with degenerative eye disease by way of technology, has finally seen its flagship product approved for "clinical and commercial use" in Europe. The product is the Argus II, and for all intents and purposes, it's a retinal prosthesis (read: implant) that can at least partially restore lost vision. It works a little like this: patients don the camera-laden glasses, where signals are grabbed and fed wirelessly to a chip implanted near ones retina. The information is beamed to around 60 electrodes that "stimulate retinal cells, producing light in a patient's view." According to Technology Review, "the process works for people with retinitis pigmentosa because the disease damages only the light-sensing photoreceptors, leaving the remaining retinal cells healthy." For now, the $115,000 device will only be available through a smattering of clinics in Switzerland, France and the UK. If all goes well, it'll be actively seeking FDA approval next year for use in the US of A, and a version with way more electrodes shouldn't be too far behind.
Australian researchers unveil bionic eye prototype, implants coming in 2013
We've been hearing about things like bionic eyeballs -- specifically cameras which are implantable into human eyes -- for quite some time now. But it looks like Bionic Vision Australia has actually developed a real, working prototype. BVA, along with researchers at the University of New South Wales, have shown off their advanced prototype of the "eye," which boasts a pair of glasses mounted with a camera, a pocket-mounted CPU, and a wireless electrode chip which must be surgically implanted in the eye. The electrode chip has 98 electrodes which stimulates cells on the optical nerve, resulting in improved vision for those with vision problems resulting from optical nerve problems. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin later this year in Melbourne, with the hope that actual patients will be treated sometime in 2013. Kudos! The full press release is after the break.
Bionic Eye: Clever idea, flawed execution
Bionic Eye [iTunes link] is an augmented reality app for the iPhone that displays businesses around you superimposed over a live camera picture.It sorta works, but doesn't solve any problem I have. It's cool to rotate around and see a Burger King logo or a Hilton Hotel logo pop up when the actual locations are nearby. The problem is, I can get that kind of information from Google Maps and hundreds of other free or paid apps that can give me the same info, although not in such a sexy way.Even worse, the app is very, very slow. It takes Bionic Eye anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute to fully launch. If I go to the settings menu to change something, it takes another minute to absorb that change and bring me to a usable screen. If you turn your iPhone horizontally, you can see all the nearby locations in a list, and when you select one a blue arrow points you to the actual location. Whee!I had a couple of lockups when I went to the setting screen to make a change, which only added to my frustration. The points of interest you are searching for are limited to about a 2 mile range, so it will only guide you to places that are really close. Usually I could look up and see the destination, so I really didn't need the app in the first place. It has a limited list of locations, and they're all brand names, so if you are looking for a restaurant that is not a franchise or a hotel that is not part of a chain, it's tough luck for you.For an additional fee, you can get guidance to subway stations in New York, Washington and Chicago. There are also versions of the app for the U.K., France and Tokyo.Bionic Eye is only US$0.99, but it doesn't answer the first question you should ask of any app -- does it solve any real world problems I have. An app should be a novel solution to a problem or great entertainment. Bionic Eye is neither, but it has potential if it can be given a larger database, much faster load times, and crash a lot less frequently. To be fully functional, Bionic Eye requires an iPhone 3GS.
New nanotechnology augments vision, optic blasts not included
It wouldn't be as much of an icebreaker as saying you have a bionic eye, but University of Colorado Hospital's Jeffrey Olson has developed a procedure for improving eyesight that involves injecting nano-sized semiconductors called "quantum dots" into the retina. These dots stimulate electrical activity in working parts of the eye and slows degradation in the rest, and early tests on rats have been shown to successfully increase perception. Although intended for those with damaged vision, this might be just the thing for watching your neighbors' HBO from the comforts of your windowsill -- hey, we won't judge you.[Via New Scientist]
Bionic lens to debut in the next half-decade
Professor James Wolffsohn from Aston University in the United Kingdom imagines that within the next decade, the cure to near- and farsightedness will not only exist, but will actually be within reach. While the underlying idea of replacing biological lenses with minty-fresh artificial ones isn't necessarily new (think cataract surgery), Wolffsohn's efforts will allow patients to focus both near and far, instead of just plain old, boring far. While the details on how the lenses work are a little scant (read non-existent), apparently eye muscles squeezing the "ultra-flexible" devices allow the actual focusing to occur. The professor has been working with opthology companies to commercialize the specs, and envisions the procedure costing less than £1,000 within the next five to ten years. Sounds good to us, because fancy new lenses or not, as people who stare at computer screens all day, the odds of us going under the laser at some point are a tad on the high side.
Researchers develop eye-implantable camera
Most of the bionic eye systems we've seen involve clunky glasses-cam headgear, but the implantable camera now being developed at UCLA does it straight Terminator-style and keeps your face unencumbered. The camera, which researcher Michelle Hauer and her team recently filed a patent for, is small enough to be implanted directly on the eye's lens, and feeds image data to a chip at the back of the eye, where it can either be fed into the optic nerve to aid the blind, or just into a portable hard drive to aid the creepy. Hauer says power will come from on an onboard battery, but we're more interested in the mention of "optical control signals" in the patent application -- and by "interested" we mean "terrified of a zombie android army."Read - NewScientist blurbRead - Patent application
Researchers set to test bionic eye implant
Researchers at the University of Southern California's Doheny Eye Institute have snagged the all-important FDA approval need to begin clinical trials of their bionic eye implant, joining a growing number of other groups following in Lee Majors footsteps. Once underway, between 50 and 75 patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration will be outfitted with the implant, which has already seen some degree of success in limited testing. As the image above shows, in its current form at least, the device isn't completely implantable, also consisting of a small camera mounted on a pair of glasses that's wired to a handheld device. It works by processing images from the camera and wirelessly transmitting them to a receiver implanted in the eye, which in turn sends signals to a series of electrodes that stimulate the retina, sending the information to the brain, all of which happens in real time. While it won't restore full sight, the researchers say patients should be able to detect light and distinguish objects from one another. If all goes as planned, they also foresee the device being commercially available shortly after the trials are complete, although it obviously won't come cheap, with an expected price tag of $30,000. Let's just hope a mirror shades version isn't too far behind.[Via BBC News]
Aussie "bionic eye" doing well in clinical trials
It's a bit odd, even to us, that bionic eyes aren't really that fresh of a topic these days, but they're still dang awesome, and it looks like a new project by the Bionic Eye Foundation at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital is doing particularly well. The bionic eye works in much the same way as a cochlear implant does, by implanting small electrodes to stimulate the retina, which then sends images on to the optic nerve. The view is generated by a video camera mounted on a pair of glasses, and while it's barely managing flashes of light for patients so far, the method seems plenty promising. There isn't much hope yet of offering full sight, but basic outlines of objects should be possible in the near future, and work is even being done on an implant that sends messages directly to the brain, in case a patient's optic nerve does not function. We're not sure how long it'll take for this technology to get out of the lab on onto the street, but clinical trials are sure a good sign.
