CHINA PUT A CHIP IN A BLIND MAN'S EYE — NOW HE CAN READ AND GRAB THINGS

Chinese researchers in Hubei province have developed a brain-computer interface system intended to restore visual perception in certain forms of irreversible blindness. Doctors implanted a chip smaller than half a small fingernail into the sclera, the outer wall of the eyeball, without penetrating the eye and without connecting wires or external magnetic attachments.

Cameras in specially designed glasses capture images and convert them into electrical signals sent wirelessly to the implant, which stimulates nearby ocular nerves and sends signals to the brain's visual cortex. The patient enabled by the system has been able to recognise and write numbers and Chinese and English characters, grasp objects and navigate around obstacles. Researchers say the approach could potentially address seven types of blindness linked to nerve damage, including retinitis pigmentosa, advanced macular degeneration, advanced glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, while work continues on colour, depth and detail.