Vision A number of new techniques are under development to help the blind regain partial vision. These treatments are still in the experimental stages for the most part, and it may be many years before they are used routinely. Also, the techniques each treat specific kinds of blindness. There are types of blindness for which help may be longer in coming, if at all. For example, many of the treatments discussed below will only help individuals who once had sight, not those who are blind from birth.
Surgeons implant a computer chip in the retina.
The electrical stimulation of the retinal surface causes a visual sensation, with the potential of partial restoration of vision. In the fifteen trial procedures performed to date, the chip has been implanted for a short period of up to one hour. Trials are expected to continue for two to five years. In this technique, a device is implanted in the brain and connected to a digital camera. The images captured by the camera are translated into electrical signals that are in turn translated into vision by the visual cortex.