TOPIC:-BIONIC EYE

Presented by:Name:-Abhisekh Srivastav Roll no.:-0812731002 Branch:-EC-A Year:-3rd

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to thank everyone who helped to see this seminar to completion. In particular, I would like to thank Prof. Praveen Tiwari for his moral support and guidance to complete my seminar on time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Prof. Amit Singh, Head of the Department, for his Electronics support & and

Communication encouragement.

Engineering

I express my gratitude to all my friends and classmates for their support and help in this seminar. Last, but not the least I wish to express my gratitude to God almighty for his abundant blessings without which this seminar would not have been successful.

With regards, Abhisekh Srivastav.

CONTENTS
1. Abstract............... 2. Introduction 3. Human Eye... 4. Diseases of Eye. 5. Bionic Eye. 6. Structure of Eye. 7. Working of Bionic Eye.. 8. Advantages. 9. Disadvantages. 10. The Challenges 11. Conclusion.. 12. References

Bionic Eyes - Hope for the blind!

Abstract
Technology has done wonders for the mankind. We have seen prosthetics that helped overcome handicaps. Bio medical engineers play a vital role in shaping the course of these prosthetics. Now it is the turn of Artificial Vision through Bionic Eyes. Chips-designed specifically to imitate the characteristics of the damaged retina, and the cones and rods of the organ of sight are implanted with a microsurgery. Whether it be Bio medical, Computer, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineers all of them have a role to play in the personification of Bionic Eyes. This multidisciplinary nature of the new technology has inspired me to present this paper. There is hope for the blind in the form of Bionic Eyes. This technology can add life to their vision less eyes!

Introduction:There is no lovelier way to thank God for your sight Than by giving a helping hand To those in dark. There is no replacement for human sight. It is simply incomparable because of its capacity to see. Our life is full of pictures we daily see. Life without sight is dark. And blind people lead dark lives. As capable human beings, we need to do something more than just helping a blind person cross the road. Belonging to the community of engineers there is no frontier that we cannot conquer. If scientists give birth to ideas, then it is we engineers who put life into those ideas. Today, we have every tool in our hand. The ball is in our court! It is our turn now, to return what mankind has given us. What about bestowing sight for the blind? There is no magic wand to do this in a jiffy. But yes! We certainly know the magic route to reach our goal: Science and Technology. Today, we talk of artificial intelligence that has created waves of interest in the field of robotics. When this has been possible, why not artificial vision? It is with this dream that I present this paper on Bionic Eyes. Sooner or later, this shall create a revolution in the field of medicine. It is important to know few facts about the organ of sight i.e, the Eye before we proceed towards the technicalities involved.

Human Eye:Having seen the anatomical part of human eye, lets try to know as to how we are able to see how is an image being formed? For vision to occur, 2 conditions need to be met: 1. An image must be formed on the retina to stimulate its receptors (rods and cones). 2. Resulting nerve impulses must be conducted to the visual areas of the cerebral cortex for interpretation. Four processes focus light rays, so that they form a clear image on the retina 1. Refraction of light rays 2. Accommodation of the lens 3. Constriction of the pupil 4. Convergence of the eyes

Fig. Structure of eye

Disease of eye:1. Retinitis pigmentosa 2. 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.

Fig.Eye sight of a person suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa

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.

Fig. Eye sight of a person suffering from Macular Degeneration

Bionic Eyes:Bionic eye is a type of neural prosthesis intended to partially restore lost vision or amplify the existing image. An artificial eye provokes visual sensations in the brain by directly stimulating different parts of the optic nerve. There are also other experimental implants that can stimulate the ganglia cells on the retina or the visual cortex of the brain itself An artificial eye provokes visual sensations in the brain by directly stimulating different parts of the optic nerve. There are also other experimental implants that can stimulate the ganglia cells on the retina or the visual cortex of the brain itself. There is more concentration given to the production of artificial retinas.

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.

Here is the description of a Bionic Eye:

Many types of artificial eyes have been designed and research is still going on . There is no standard model in this case. Researchers are working out different types of concepts. Here are a few examples: The prototype devices are 2 millimeters across and contain some 3,500 micro photodiodes. Placed behind the retina, this collection of miniature solar cells is designed to convert natural light to electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the brain by the remaining healthy parts of the retina. A Belgian device has a coil that wraps around the optic nerve, with only four points of electrical contact. By shifting the phase and varying the strength of the signals, the coil can stimulate different parts of the optic nerve, rather like the way the electron guns in TVs are aimed at different parts of the screen. The video signals come from an external camera and are transmitted to the implant via a radio antenna and microchip beneath the skin just behind the ear.Implants of a microchip, smaller than the head of a pin and about half the thickness of a sheet of paper were used to remove blindness.

Structure of Bionic eye:The chip is the size of half a rice grain-3millimeters and allows users to perceive 10 degrees of visual field at a time. It's a flat rectangle of plastic(eventually a silicon version is has been developed) with one corner snipped off to create asymmetry so surgeons can orient it properly during implantation. One design includes an orchard of pillars: One side of each pillar is a light-sensing pixel and the other side is a cell-stimulating electrode. Pillar density dictates image resolution, or visual acuity.The strip of orchard across the top third of the chip is densely planted. The strip in the middle is moderately dense, and the strip at the bottom is sparser still. Dense electrodes lead to better image resolution but may inhibit the desirable migration of retinal cells into voids near electrodes, so the different electrode densities of a current chip design allow the researchers to explore parameters and come up with a chip that performs optimally. Another design-pore electrodes-involves an array of cavities with stimulating electrodes located inside each of them.The chip will be placed right on the retina replacing the defective rods and cones(Photoreceptors)

Fig.-Structure of eye implant at the retina of the eye

Fig.Structure of eye implant.

Working of Bionic Eye: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. As you can see in the picture at the top of this page, the ASR is an extremely tiny device, smaller than the surface of a pencil eraser. It has a diameter of just 2 mm (.078 inch) and is thinner than a human hair. There is good reason for its microscopic size. In order for an artificial retina to work it has to be small enough so that doctors can transplant it in the eye without damaging the other structures within the eye.

The working of the Bionic eye can given by following steps:1. Camera Captures image and sends information to the microprocessor. 2. Microprocessor converts data to an electronic signal and transmits it to receiver. 3. Receiver sends signals through a tiny cable to an electrode panel implanted by doctors on back wall of retina(eye). 4. Retinal implant emits pulses which travel through the optic nerve to the brain. 5. Brain perceives patterns of light and dark which correspond to the electrodes stimulated on the retinal implant.

Let's take an example with viewing a flower."First, light from the flower enters the video camera.(Keep in mind that camera technology is already pretty good at adjusting contrast and other types of image enhancement.) The video camera then sends the image of the flower to the wallet-sized computer for complex processing. The processor then wirelessly sends its image of the flower to an infrared LED-LCD screen mounted on the goggles. The transparent goggles reflect an infrared image into the eye and onto the retinal chip.Just as a person with normal vision cannot see the infrared signal coming out of a TV remote control, this infrared flower image is also invisible to normal photoreceptors. But for those sporting retinal implants, the infrared flower electrically stimulates the implant's array of photo diodes.The result? They may not have to settle for merely smelling the roses."

Fig.-working of bionic eye

Fig:-What will I see?? 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 Figure. 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, thin silicon, or polyimide with ribbon cables connecting the devices. The biocompatibility of polyimide is being studied, and its thin, lightweight consistency suggests its possible use as a non-intrusive material for an electrode array. Titanium tacks or cyanoacrylate glue may be used to hold the electrode array in place.

Overall System Functionality: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 patients retina. As shown in Figure, 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 Infirmary, 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 helpful for glaucoma patients

The Challenges:There are many very many obstacles to be overcome before Bionic Eyes become a success story. Our eyes are perhaps the most sensitive of all organs in the human body. A nano-sized irritant can create havoc in the eye. There are 120 million rods and 6 million cones in the retina of every healthy human eye. Creating an artificial replacement for these is no easy task. Si based photo detectors have been tried in earlier attempts. But Si is toxic to the human body and reacts unfavorably with fluids in the eye. There are many doubts as to how the brain will react to foreign signals generated by artificial light sensors. Infection and negative reaction are the always-feared factors. It is imperative that all precautionary measures need to be ascertained.

Conclusion:Restoration of sight for the blind is no more a dream today. Bionic Eyes have made this true. Though there are a number of challenges to be faced before this technology reach the common man, the path has been laid. This paper has tried to present the concept of Artificial Vision through a engineers viewpoint. Engineers play a major role in the design stage of Bionic Eyes. It is just a matter of 4-5 years, that the blind will be able to see through these Bionic Eyes.

Thanks to Science and Technology

References:1. Neural Implants First Bionic Eyes by Victor Chase. 2. Hitting the Nerve (from the New Scientist). 3. Doctors Test Chips in Eyeballs to Restore Sight from azcentral.com 4. Anthonys textbook of Anatomy and Physiology - Gary A Thibodeau, Kevin T Patton 5. Science Reporter (December 2004)