Breakthrough method of 'film' helps blind people 26 years of light

The strange method of combining cranial and high-tech surgery has shown video clips directly into the patient's brain, teaching the visual cortex to process images again.

Benjamin James Spencer (from Pearland, near Houston, USA) decided to share the wonderful story with the press about how he saw the light after 26 years of blindness thanks to a method of healing the sudden breaking.

The strange device helped Mr. Spencer see his wife and children for the first time - (Photo: James Breeden).

Mr. Spencer participated in a clinical trial by Baylor College of Medicine in collaboration with the University of California in Los Angeles (USA) and became one of six patients who had the opportunity to see life again thanks to the new method.

The doctor conducted a brain surgery and placed an electrode table in the back of Mr. Spencer's brain area . They then took another 6 months to "program" the cortical area responsible for the patient's vision. This work aims to "synchronize" Mr. Spencer 's brain with a computer device, where the real world is recorded through "live TV" videos.

In October 2018, for the first time, scientists turned on a wireless connection between electrodes in Mr. Spencer's brain with a pair of glasses with a small video camera. Thanks to that, Mr. Spencer saw his wife and his three children for the first time.

"I haven't seen the sun since I was 9 years old. I felt its heat, but I found it really extraordinary. After 25 and a half years living in the dark, it was so exciting to see so much. beauty "- Mr. Spencer told the Daily Mail.

Earlier, at the age of 9, Mr. Spencer suffered from glaucoma in children and became blind. With this new method, his eyes were still broken, but thanks to the devices, the visual cortex of the visual field was able to receive signals directly from the outside world without eyes, making it possible for him to see Again.

Spencer patient with his family - (photo: James Breeden).

Since last January 2019, the clinical trial has moved to allow patients to bring the device home and use it 3 hours / day, enough to help Mr. Spencer join his wife and children for the first time. social activities.

Dr. Daniel Yoshor (Baylor College of Medicine), a member of the research team, explains: "When you think about vision, you think about the eyes, but most of the work is being done in the brain. The light shining on the retina is converted into neural signals that are transmitted along the optic nerve to parts of the brain. This device copies that process. "

Now the team is planning to expand clinical trials by implanting 30 more sets of similar devices, which are named "Orion wireless devices". Patients who are being directed to are vision loss due to illness; For the congenital blindness group, scientists are still learning more.

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