Brian Bussard has 25 microchips in his brain. They were installed in February 2022 as part of research to test wireless devices designed to provide basic vision to blind people. Bussard was the first participant.
Barsad, 56, was blind in his left eye due to retinal detachment when he was 17 years old. In 2016, he also became blind in his right eye. He clearly remembers the moment it happened. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,” he said. Eventually, he learned to adapt.
In 2021, he heard about a visual prosthesis trial underway at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. The researchers warned that the device was experimental and that he should not expect to be able to restore previous levels of vision. Still, he was interested and signed up. Due to the chip in his brain, Barsad now has very limited artificial vision – which he describes as “blips on a radar screen”. With the help of the implant, he can perceive people and objects represented as white and iridescent dots.
Barsad is one of the few blind people in the world who has risked brain surgery to obtain a visual prosthesis. In Spain, researchers at Miguel Hernandez University have implanted similar systems in four people. These trials are the culmination of decades of research.
Industry is also interested. California-based Cortigent is developing Orion, which has been implanted in six volunteers. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is also working on brain implants for vision.in a X posts In March of this year, Musk said that Neuralink’s device “Blindsight” “has already worked on monkeys.” He added: “The resolution will start out low, like early Nintendo graphics cards, but may eventually exceed normal human vision.”
Considering that vision is such a complex process, this last prediction is unlikely. There are huge technical barriers to improving the quality of what people see with brain implants. However, producing even basic vision can provide blind people with greater independence in their daily lives.
“This is not about restoring biological vision,” said Philip Troyk, a professor of biomedical engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology who is leading the ongoing research at Pasteur. “This is about exploring the possibilities of artificial vision. “
When light enters the eye, it first passes through the cornea and lens, the outer and middle layers of the eye. When light reaches the back of the eye (retina), cells there (called photoreceptors) convert it into electrical signals. These electrical signals travel through the optic nerve to the brain, which interprets them into the images we see.
Without an intact retina or optic nerve, the eye cannot communicate with the brain. This is the case for many people who are completely blind. The type of device Troyk and Neuralink are building bypasses the eyes and optic nerve entirely and sends information directly to the brain. Because of this, they have the potential to address any cause of blindness, whether due to eye disease or trauma.
The specific area of the brain that processes information received from the eyes is called the visual cortex. It is located at the back of the head and allows for easy placement of the implant. To place the 25 chips into Bussard’s brain, surgeons performed a routine craniotomy and removed a piece of his skull.