Discussion Forum: Bionic Eyes

Penetrode Inc. presents the Opti-scan visual enhancement system, the latest in ocular prosthetics. Opti-scan is capable not only of restoring sight to the blind but also of providing them with additional capabilities beyond those of the normally sighted. The housing of the implant is designed to mimic the external appearance of the eye and comes with an iris capable of changing colors to suit the daily tastes of our customers. A series of small motors implanted within the eye socket will provide human like eye movements while allowing for much greater tracking speeds than is possible with normal muscle.

The heart of the technology is thin film photosensitive ceramic panels that are located in the back of the eye. These panels take light signals and transduce them into electrical signals that stimulate the ganglial cells. The stimulated ganglial cells allow for the signal to be processed along the optical nerve to the visual cortex. If there is extensive damage to the ganglial cells or the optical nerve then the signal can be routed directly to the lateral genicuate nucleus, which is where the optic nerve connects to the visual cortex.

A massive zoom/magnification function will allow for telescopic sight similar to that of a high grade set of binoculars and the ability to greatly magnify nearby objects achieving magnification power similar to that of many laboratory microscopes. Opti-scan uses digital magnification features similar to those found in most digital cameras to achieve this additional functionality. Opti-scan is also available with night vision, thermal imaging, and high definition video and still photo capture. Images captured through the Opti-scan can be downloaded via Bluetooth and WiFi to any personal computing device. Depending upon the condition of your optic nerve, Opti-scan can be implanted through outpatient surgery and after a brief, two week course of training and therapy you and your new eyes will be fully functional.