Implanting Innovation
The potential to restore partial vision to people who have lost their sight took a giant step forward in February, when a first-of-its-kind artificial vision system was successfully implanted into a brain at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP), an implant that bypasses the retina and optic nerves to connect directly to the brain’s visual cortex, was surgically implanted in the ICVP study’s first participant. This surgery is part of a Phase I Feasibility Study of an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis for People With Blindness.
The ICVP system was developed by a multi-institution team led by Robert A. Pritzker Endowed Chair in Engineering Philip R. Troyk and represents the culmination of nearly three decades of Illinois Tech research dedicated to ultimately providing artificial sight to those with blindness due to eye disease or trauma.