Microchip Technology May Help Blind
People
Source: Excite News
December 11, 2000
(U-WIRE) SALT LAKE CITY -- On "Star Trek: The Next
Generation," the Enterprise's chief engineer Geordai LaForge wore a
bionic visual device allowing the otherwise blind character to see.
Such technology is stepping out of the future and into
the present in the form of a microchip called the Utah Electrode
Array, designed by the University of Utah's Center for Neural
Interfaces Director Richard Normann.
The technology would be applicable to the blind who had
lost their sight through accident or disease, rather than those born
blind, Normann said.
When implanted into the brain's visual cortex, the chip
will allow blind patients to see through a pair of eyeglasses,
specially fitted with tiny cameras and a small transmitter. The
glasses are no larger than a standard pair.
"The things that we're doing will definitely help
people," said Normann, also a professor of ophthalmology, physiology
and bioengineering.
Normann compared the .25 by .25 square inch, 2/10
millimeter thick chip to a micro silicon hairbrush.
"When this is implanted into the sensory part of the
brain, we can listen into the neuro activity of this part of the
brain," he said. By enabling scientists to "listen" and "talk" to the
nervous system, the array will create new therapeutic approaches to
nerve-damaged conditions.
"We're not just talking about artificial vision,
although that's clearly our main focus," Normann said.
Micro-array technology could potentially also control
chronic pain and bowel function in people with spinal cord injuries.
The hearing impaired or deaf could benefit from an auditory nerve
implant.
Scientists could also implant the micro-electrode array
into the brain's motor cortex, which governs coordination, among other
things, Normann said. If in a quadrapalegic, like Christopher Reeves,
the array could allow him control of a wheelchair, computer keyboard
or robotic arm.
"I'm optimistic that this is definitely going to work,
but it's not going to work next week," Normann said.
To help bring this technology to the market, Normann
founded Bionic Technologies with Brian Hatt, a University of
Birmingham, England chemistry professor-turned business consultant.
"It's very satisfying to take a technology from a
research world to market," Hatt said. "It's a worthwhile project and
we're enjoying it."
Bionic Technologies sells ready to-go data systems to
neuroscience researchers. Since its creation in 1996, Bionic
Technologies has received more than $3 million in small business
innovative research grants, which help small companies develop
products that they couldn't otherwise.
"It's a long haul between doing something on a research
basis and actually having products," Hatt said.
Hatt hesitated to speculate as to the price of a pair of
outfitted eyeglasses and the microchip, but said it would be an
"affordable technology."
Success of micro-electrode array technology would
benefit not only the visually impaired, but the U's ophthalmology
department and the John A. Moran Eye Center's standing in the academic
community as well.
"If this were to occur, it would be fantastic to us in
terms of our recognition," said Eric Lasater, director of research at
the Moran Eye Center. "We would be on the map big time. It'll shoot
(our) recognition to the top of the scale."
With more than a decade of research in this field behind
him, Normann estimated he will be ready to implant micro-array
technology in volunteers in three years.
"We're not ready to do artificial vision just yet," he
said, noting that future research will help him better understand how
the brain processes information. "If we can do that, then the rest is
just technology."
by Jared Whitley
Daily Utah Chronicle
http://news.excite.com/news/uw/001211/tech-23