Electrodes in the brain: the experimental therapy that aims to combat blindness
Two people manage to perceive shapes with an artificial vision system developed by researchers from Valencia
BarcelonaBlind people currently have no treatment; they must learn to live with their condition and adapt to a new life in complete darkness. However, science has long been searching for ways to help blind people regain at least some vision and improve their quality of life, as fully restoring sight remains an unattainable goal for current research. One of the most promising therapies to combat blindness involves implanting electrodes in the brain and, through electrical stimulation, attempting to enable the person to perceive visual elements without seeing them. To put it simply, researchers studying this experimental technology are bypassing the eyes and acting directly on the area of the brain that processes vision. Following this premise, a team from the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche and the Alicante Hospital has developed an artificial vision system—a small array of electrodes—and tested it in a study with two blind people, with promising results. Specifically, participants recognized several complex patterns, movements, shapes, and even some letters, demonstrating that restoring partial vision to blind people may be feasible in the future. However, the researchers emphasize that this technology is still in its very early stages and many more studies, like the one published this Wednesday in the journal, are needed. Science Advances so that it becomes a real solution for blind people.
"We've opened the door, yes, but there are still many problems we need to solve," warns Eduardo Fernández, director of the UMH Bioengineering Institute and leader of the study, in a conversation with ARA. For example, they need to understand how the brain encodes visual information, what the most appropriate way is to send it the information, and what compatibility problems people will have with the implants in the long term. In any case, the expert insists that the goal of this line of research is not "to see again," but to recover "functional vision" for simple tasks such as orienting oneself, moving around, or reading large print.
An external camera
Aside from UMH, several laboratories around the world are studying visual prostheses based on brain implants as a tool to restore functional vision to blind people in the future. "What a cortical artificial vision system does is try to emulate the natural process of vision. That's why it uses a small external camera integrated into more or less conventional glasses that replaces the retina," explains Fernández. The information is processed electronically and converted into electrical stimulation patterns that are sent to the part of the brain responsible for processing visual information, called the occipital cortex. In addition to the two people who participated in the study, Fernández explained that they have implanted this technology in two others. All four had damage to the optic nerve, the "cable that connects the eye to the brain," the expert explains. However, he believes it is very important to proceed gradually and not create false expectations, since at the moment it is only ongoing research.
