Kristina Narfstrom, a researcher at the University of Missouri-Columbia veterinary ophthalmologist has developed a microchip implant that can help the blind animals see.
The results from this research can also be used on humans as the test has been done on Abyssinian cats, which are affected with a hereditary retinal blinding disease because the eye structure of the cats is the same as that of humans. These cats start to loose their eye sight when they are two years old and are completely blind when four.
The surgery procedure includes making two small cuts into the sclera, the outer wall of the eyeball. After removing the vitreous, which is a gelatinous fluid inside the eye, Narfstrom creates a small blister and a small hole so that the microchip that is 2mm in diameter and 23 micrometers thick can fit in the hole. The chip includes thousands of microphotodiodes that react to light and produce small electric impulse in parts of the retina.
The research is not only beneficial for cats and other animals but this successful research can also be used on the millions of humans worldwide that are suffering from retinal blindness.
Via: sciencedaily
