🔘 Blindsight: How Neuralink Will Restore Vision
The new implant from Elon Musk's company has already been designated as a "breakthrough device" in the U.S. Blindsight restores the ability to see for patients who have lost their vision, even if they lack eyes or optic nerves.
🔴 How Blindsight Works
Neuralink's new device is a chip with electrodes implanted into the brain's visual cortex. It activates neurons, creating visual images in the brain.
Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time. To set expectations correctly, the vision will at first be low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually, it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge.
Elon Musk, founder of Neuralink
⬇️ What Are the Limitations of Blindsight
Research shows that increasing the number of electrodes does not necessarily improve vision quality, meaning the technology has significant limitations in image quality. Experts also note that simple electrical stimulation of neurons is not capable of creating complex visual images.
🔘 Who Else Is Working in This Area
The startup Science Corporation, founded by one of Neuralink's co-founders, has already successfully conducted clinical trials of the Prima implant.
Prima consists of a 2-mm chip surgically placed under the eye's retina. The entire procedure takes 80 minutes. The patient then wears glasses that capture all information and direct infrared light beams onto the chip with a resolution of 378 light pixels. The chip converts light into electrical stimulation and sends impulses to the brain.
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