ARGUS:Bionic Eye

Larry Hestor

Has been losing eye
sight for 30 years

Also has retinitis
pigmentosa

Degemerative illness

Causes bare light blindness

Disease damages the retinal
cells, the light sensitive rods
and cones

Inherited (genetic)
predisposition

DR. Paul Hahn

First such surgury in
North Carolina state
history

The technology
has two physically
seperate parts

External:Specialized
glasses

Has camera in middle

the camera is
wired to a small
computer

Video gets proccessed
by the compute and
sends it back to the glasses

Internal: Surgically
implanted antennea
and micro-chip

Called a coil and goes
around the eye

Signal goes to
a micro-chip attached
to the retina

Micro-chip stimulates
the retina

Results

This implant
gives you flashes
of light that may
correspond to things
around you

The improvement was
starteling for Pontz and
his wife

Pontz was seeing glimpses
of his wife, grandson and cat

Most patients compare
the improvement against
the idea of being totally
blind and are very pleased

Research and cost

Research has been going on twenty
years, originating at Duke. Very expensive at almost 145,000$

Roger Pontz

Retinitis Pigmentosa

Degenerative disease

Diagnosed as a teen,
nearly totally blind for
many years

Inherited predisposition

Gradual sight loss
from light sensitive
rods and cones which
are retinal cells.

Causes
"Bare light blindness"

Site for all four implants

Dr. Thiran Jayasundera,
One of the surguns who
preforms this surgury.