This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
In February 1968, Giles Brindley, an English physiologist, developed an array of 80 tiny radio receivers which were implanted onto the surface of the visual cortex of a 52-year-old blind nurse. In the succeeding weeks, Brindley was able to produce the sensation of phosphene, dot patterns in the form of a question mark and other simple letters.
Following this pioneering effort, a group of scientists from many fields met in Chicago to explore the possibilities of producing further visual prostheses for the blind. This book is essentially a record of that meeting.
A frontal onslaught towards giving the blind a form of sight makes good fiscal sense, for there are over 300,000 blind people in this country. The total cost of supporting them throughout their lives has been estimated to be $17 billion.
Since these 300,000 people do not have functioning eyes, but do have working visual brains, a
Miller D. Visual Prosthesis: The Interdisciplinary Dialogue.. Arch Ophthalmol. 1972;88(2):231. doi:10.1001/archopht.1972.01000030233025