The Food and Drug Administration has approved a technology that will give limited vision to people who are blind with an “artificial retina,” according to The New York Times.
The structure, called Argus II, is composed of electrodes that are surgically implanted in the eye along with glasses, and attached camera, and a portable video processor that, when combined, are able to transmit visual images to the brain.
Argus II will allow people who are blind to see outlines and boundaries. According to the article, “With it, people with certain types of blindness can detect crosswalks on the street, burners on a stove, the presence of people or cars, and sometimes even oversized numbers or letters.”
