A new implant for blind people jacks directly into the brain ... | 合法醫療器材資訊網

2020年2月6日—...theeyeswithabrainimplantthatallowsrudimentaryvision....iswiredtoa100​-electrodeimplantinthevisualcortexintherearofherbrain.

The big downside to the prosthesis—and the primary reason Gómez couldn’t keep hers beyond six months—is that nobody knows how long the electrodes can last without degrading either the implant or the user’s brain. “The body’s immune system starts to break down the electrodes and surround them with scar tissue, which eventually weakens the signal,” Fernandez says. There’s also the problem of the electrodes flexing as someone moves around. Judging from research in animals and an early look at the array Gómez used, he supposes the current setup could last two to three years, and perhaps up to 10 before it fails. Fernandez hopes a few minor tweaks will extend that to a few decades—a critical prerequisite for a piece of medical hardware that requires invasive brain surgery.

Eventually, the prosthesis, like a cochlear implant, will need to transmit its signal and power wirelessly through the skull to reach the...