The Foundation for the Support of the Deaf-Blind “Connection” and the non-profit Laboratory “Sensor-Tech” have developed a technology for influencing different areas of the brain, which causes certain sensory sensations in a person. Such devices, which restore the functions of perception of the world lost for a person, are being created in Russia for the first time, Izvestia learned.
The line will include three neuroimplants (microchips that directly contact the cerebral cortex) to restore sight to the blind, restore hearing and treat neurological disorders.
The “artificial vision” system consists of an internal part – an implant that is installed in the brain, and an external part – cameras and a microcomputer that converts the video image into signals for the brain. The technology is suitable for people who have completely lost their sight (including those with missing eyes), but who have visual experience and with an intact brain.
“The vision implant is already in the final stages of animal testing. In January of this year, we installed it in a monkey, the tests were successful. In 2024, the first blind volunteers will receive electronic vision. We expect that the operation to install this technology will become widely available in Russia in 2027,” said Natalya Sokolova, Executive Director of the Soyedinenie Foundation for the Support of the Deaf and Blind.
A neuroimplant for hearing restoration allows you to transmit sounds from a microphone directly to the cochlea of the inner ear, where the nerve endings are located. Such a system consists of two parts.
The third device, as explained by its creators, will help people suffering from Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain syndromes, tremors, Tourette’s syndrome and other neurological disorders.
According to the developers, the first tests on volunteers will begin as early as 2024-2025, now animal experiments are underway.