SOUMYA RANJAN SAHU

Regd.no. - 0701216154
Branch- IT
SEMESTER- 7th
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

On the submission of this seminar report, I would like to

take the opportunity to express my gratitude to all the members
who extended their support to me during the extensive effort.

First of all I would like to mention the contribution of our

seminar in charge, who helped us in understanding the concept
of the topic. I cannot forget the overwhelming support of Head
of Department, Information Technology and thank him for
being their for entire process.

Lastly, I thank god and my parents and all my friends for

encouraging and providing me company all throughout the
seminar.

SOUMYA RANJAN SAHU

Regd.no. - 0701216154
Branch- IT
SEMESTER- 7th
 ABSTRACT
When vision fails, it's often the result of damage to the eye caused by
an injury or degenerative disease. In an attempt to restore such
vision loss, researchers for more than decades have been working to
develop an optical prosthetic that can restore sight by delivering
images directly to the brain. And it appears they succeeded.
A bionic eye implant helps to restore the sight of millions of blind
people.
The system works with the aid of eyeglasses, which hold a camera
mounted on one of the lenses that captures images and sends the
information to a video processor, also located on the glasses. After
the video processor converts the images to an electronic signal, a
transmitter on the glasses sends that information wirelessly to a
receiver attached to the surface of the eye. From there, the
information is sent through a tiny cable to an electrode array
implanted in the retina, stimulating it to emit electrical pulses. These
pulses trigger signals in the retina that travel through the optic
nerve to the brain, which perceives patterns of light and dark spots
that correspond to the electrodes stimulated.
 CONTENTS

 Bionic Eye technology

 Structure
 Argus II Retinal Prosthesis system
 Working Process
 Advantages
 Disadvantages
 Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the report is to provide an accurate and detailed

description of the Bionic eye(Optoelectronic Retinal Prosthesis
System) and its function. The new technology tested by
Mrs.Moorfoot uses an external camera worn on a pair of dark
glasses that sends images to a radio receiver implanted near the
eye that transmits the signal on to tiny silicon and platinum chip
that sits on the retina. This information then goes down the optic
nerve into the brain. The team led by
Dr. Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology and Biomedical
engineering at the Doheny eye institute in Los Angeles,
California have now developed a small and powerful camera that
could be implanted inside the patient’s eye, rather than worn on a
pair of glasses. “The camera is very, very small and very low
power, so it can go inside your eye and couple your eye
movement to where the camera is,” said Dr Humayun.
 THE HUMAN EYE

We are able to see because light from an object can move

through space and reach our eyes. Once light reaches our eyes,
signals are sent to our brain, and our brain deciphers the
information in order to detect the appearance, location and
movement of the objects we are sighting at.The whole process,
as complex as it is, would not be possible if it were not for the
presence of light. Without light, there would be no sight.The
human eye is the organ which gives us the sense of sight,
allowing us to learn more about the surrounding world than any
of the other five senses. The eyeball is set in a protective cone-
shaped cavity in the skull called the orbit or socket and measures
approximately one inch in diameter. The orbit is surrounded by
layers of soft, fatty tissue which protect the eye and enable it to
turn easily. The important part of an eye that is responsible for
vision is retina.
The retina lies at the back of the eye and it acts like the film in a
camera, receiving and processing everything you see.
In humans there are two types of light sensitive cells in the
retina:
• Rod Cells
• Cone Cells
What are Rod cells and Cone cells?

Rod cells pick up movement out of the corner of the eye and
also, in a normal eye it is the rods that operate in poor light or at
night. There are about 120 million rods in each eye and they are
more numerous towards the outer edge of the retina
The cone cells are used in colour vision and in close precision
work like reading. There are not as many cones and they are
more concentrated in the centre of the retina (the Macula).

Disease of eye
• Retinitis pigmentosa
• Macular degeneration

Retinitis pigmentosa
Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is the name given to a group of
hereditary diseases of the retina of the eye. RP may be caused by
a breakdown in the function of the rods or the cones in some
part of the retina. The retina is so complex that breakdowns may
occur in a variety of ways and so RP is not a single disorder but
a great number of disorders. The breakdown of cone function
may be called Macular Degeneration.

Macular Degeneration
Macular is a sensitive area in the centre of the retina which
provides us with sight in the centre of our field of vision. It
allows us to see the fine details when we look directly at
something. In macular degeneration, a layer beneath the retina,
called the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), gradually wears out
from its lifelong duties of disposing of retinal waste products.
A large proportion of macular degeneration cases
are age- related. Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD)
usually affects people over the age of 50 and there are two
distinct types - "wet" AMD and "dry" AMD. "Wet" AMD
results from the growth of new blood vessels in the choroid,
causing an accumulation of fluid in the macula which leads to
retinal damage. This type of degeneration can often be
successfully arrested by laser surgery.
"Dry" AMD represents at least 80% of all AMD cases and
results in atrophy of the Retina. Usually yellowish-white round
spots called drusen first appear in a scattered pattern deep in the
macula. Later degeneration of both the Pigment Epithelium and
the cones begins. While AMD is not inherited in a predictable
way, heredity may be involved to some extent.
 BIONIC EYE

A group of American scientists have given a visually impaired

grandmother a chance to see her grandchildren dance and play
football with a “Bionic eye”.
Linda Moorfoot, who suffers from the eye condition Retinitis
Pigmentosa that causes blindness, is thrilled after having part of
her sight restored by a Bionic eye.
 Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR)

The ASR is a silicon chip 2 mm in diameter and 1/1000 inch in

thickness. It contains approximately 3,500 microscopic solar
cells called "microphotodiodes," each having its own stimulating
electrode. These microphotodiodes are designed to convert the
light energy from images into thousands of tiny electrical
impulses to stimulate the remaining functional cells of the retina
in patients suffering with AMD and RP types of conditions.
The ASR is powered solely by incident light and does not
require the use of external wires or batteries. When surgically
implanted under the retina, in a location known as the sub retinal
space, the ASR is designed to produce visual signals similar to
those produced by the photoreceptor layer. From their sub
retinal location these artificial "photoelectric" signals from the
ASR are in a position to induce biological visual signals in the
remaining functional retinal cells which may be processed and
sent via the optic nerve to the brain.
How Artificial Vision Will Work?
Creating artificial sight: The current path that scientists are
taking to create artificial vision received a jolt in 1988,when Dr.
Mark Humayun demonstrated that a blind person could be
made to see light by stimulating the nerve ganglia behind the
retina with an electrical current. This test proved that the
nerves behind the retina still functioned even when the retina
had degenerated. Based on this information, scientists set out
to create a device that could translate images and electrical
pulses that could restore vision.
Today, such a device is very close to becoming available to the
millions of people who have lost their vision to retinal disease.
 Bionic eye implants

A bionic eye implant that could help restore the sight of

millions of blind people could be available to patients within
two years.
 New Bionic Eye Could Restore Sight
Researchers working for the Boston Retinal Implant Project
have been developing a bionic eye implant that could restore
the eye sight of people who suffer from age-related blindness.
The implant is based on a small chip that is surgically implanted
behind the retina, at the back of the eyeball. An ultra-thin wire
strengthens the damaged optic nerve; its purpose is to transmit
light and images to the brain's vision system, where it is
normally processed. Other than the implanted chip and wire,
most of the device sits outside the eye. The users would need
to wear special eye glasses containing a tiny battery- powered
camera and a transmitter, which would send images to the chip
implanted behind the retina. The new device is expected to be
quite durable, since the chip is enclosed in a titanium casing,
making it both water-proof and corrosion- proof. The
researchers estimate that the device will last for at least 10
years inside the eye.

The MARC System

In our case, the intermediary device is the MARC system
pictured in Figures 2A and 2B. The schematic of the
components of the MARC to be implanted consists of a
secondary receiving coil mounted in close proximity to the
cornea, a power and signal transceiver and processing chip, a
stimulation-current driver, and a proposed electrode array
fabricated on a material such as silicone rubber [3,14], thin
silicon[9], or polyimide[25] with ribbon cables connecting the
devices. The biocompatibility of polyimide [10,11] is being
studied, and its thin, lightweight consistency suggests its
possible use as a non-intrusive material for an electrode array.
Titanium tacks[12] or cyanoacrylate glue[13] may be used to
hold the electrode array in place.
The MARC system, pictured in Figures 1-4 will operate in the
following manner. An external camera will acquire an image,
whereupon it will be encoded into data stream which will be
transmitted via RF telemetry to an intraocular transceiver. A
data signal will be transmitted by modulating the amplitude of
a higher frequency carrier signal. The signal will be rectified and
filtered, and the MARC will be capable of extracting power,
data, and a clock signal. The subsequently derived image will
then be stimulated upon the patient’s retina. The MARC system
would consist of two parts which separately reside exterior and
interior to the eyeball. Each part is equipped with both a
transmitter and a receiver. The primary coil can be driven with
a 0.5- 10 MHz carrier signal, accompanied by a 10 kHz
amplitude modulated (AM/ASK) signal which provides data for
setting the configuration of the stimulating electrodes. A DC
power supply is obtained by the rectification of the incoming RF
signal. The receiver on the secondary side extracts four bits of
data for each pixel from the incoming RF signal and provides
filtering, demodulation, and amplification. The extracted data is
interpreted by the electrode signal driver which finally
generates appropriate currents for the stimulating electrodes in
terms of magnitude, pulse width, and frequency.

Advantages
Although the device will not be able to restore the eye sight of
the entire blind community, researchers are certain many
people will benefit from the technology. For instance, age-
related macular generation is the leading cause of blindness in
the industrialized world, with about 2 million Americans
currently suffering from the condition. The new technology will
hopefully assist people suffering from this condition, and
individuals suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (a genetic
condition), but will not help glaucoma patients.

The researchers note the device has some limitations, and it

will not restore perfect vision. However, they are sure it will
give people the advantage of having a general sense of their
surroundings. Hopefully, the technology may enable people to
recognize faces and facial expressions. "The thing is to
significantly improve the quality of life for blind patients," said
Joseph Rizzo of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
InfirmaryC:\WINDOWS\hinhem.scr who has co-directed the
project with MIT's John Wyatt since 1988.

Disadvantages
The scientists explain that the bionic eye will be affective for
individuals who once had sight, since their brain knows how to
process visual information. The unfortunate people who were
born blind do not have the neurological capability to process
the data received via the wire. Furthermore, the optic nerve
must be at least partly functional. Otherwise, the data will not
be fully processed. For many individuals that were born blind,
this is a problem as well, since their optic nerve has never been
used. This new technology will not be helpfull for glaucoma
patients.
 CONCLUSION
Its been 6 years since Amme Larson received the first fully
implanted bionic eye at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Researchers throughout the world have looked the way to
improve people’s lives with bionic devices.
Bionic devices are being developed to do more than
replace defective parts.
Providing power to run bionic implants and making
connection to the brain control system pose the two great
challenges for biomedical engineering.
Researchers are now looking at devices like bionic arms,
tongues and nose.