The project named Phoenix99 Bionic Eye from the University of Sydney (Australia) aims to create a solution to restore partial vision for patients suffering from vision impairment or blindness due to degenerative diseases.
In April 2021, Interesting Engineering reported that an electronic biotechnology company won the HealTech Award for designing the Prima System – a bionic vision system for the blind.
Now, there is more news about a new vision restoration technology being developed with the goal of creating a bionic eye for humans. This is the Phoenix99 Bionic Eye project from the University of Sydney (Australia), aimed at providing a solution to restore partial vision for patients with vision impairment or blindness caused by degenerative diseases.
This device is fully ready for patient testing. (Image: The University Of Sydney)
The Phoenix99 Bionic Eye is an implant system designed to restore vision for patients with severe vision impairment and blindness due to degenerative diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa. This device consists of two main components: a stimulator attached to the eye and a communication module implanted under the skin behind the ear.
Published in the journal Biomaterials, scientists used a sheep model to observe how the body reacts and recovers when implanted with this device. The biomedical research team believes that the device is fully ready for patient trials.
The research team is currently preparing to submit an ethics approval application to conduct clinical trials on patients, as they continue to develop and test advanced stimulation techniques to enhance the device’s effectiveness.
The Phoenix99 Bionic Eye works by stimulating the retina – a thin layer of nerve cells lining the back of the eye. In a healthy eye, cells in the layers convert incoming light into electrical messages sent to the brain. However, in patients with retinal diseases, the cells responsible for this crucial conversion deteriorate, leading to vision impairment. The system bypasses these malfunctioning cells by directly stimulating the remaining cells, tricking the brain into believing that light has been effectively perceived.
Regarding how the body will react and eliminate implanted devices, Samuel Eggenberger – a biomedical engineer working on the project, stated: “We found that the device has very little impact on the nerve cells that are responsible for ‘tricking’ the brain. The surrounding tissues do not react to the device. We hope it will remain in place for many years.”
“Our team is thrilled with this extraordinary result, which gives us confidence to advance human trials for this device. We hope that through this technology, individuals living with severe vision loss due to degenerative retinal disorders can safely and effectively regain their sight,” Eggenberger said.
Professor Gregg Sutering mentioned that the positive results mark a significant milestone for the Phoenix99 Bionic Eye.
“This device represents a breakthrough stemming from the combination of decades of experience and technology in the field of implantable electronics,” Professor Sutering stated.
How the bionic eye works:
- Patients are implanted with the Phoenix99 – a stimulator placed on the eye and a communication module implanted behind the ear.
- A very small camera attached to glasses captures the visual scene in front of the wearer. The images are processed into a set of stimulation instructions.
- The stimulation instructions are wirelessly transmitted through the skin to the device’s communication module.
- The implant decodes the wireless signals and sends the instructions to the stimulation module, which transmits electrical pulses to the retina’s nerve cells.
- The electrical pulses, distributed in patterns corresponding to the images captured by the camera, activate the nerve cells to relay messages to the brain to receive the transmitted images.
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