Breakthrough technique allows blind people to see shapes and objects

[Mike Wehner]

• Scientists drew shapes onto the brains of visually impaired volunteers using electricity, and the participants were able to identify the shapes with ease.
• The new technique uses a grid of electrodes implanted onto the visual cortex of the brain.
• In the future, more advanced systems like this one could give blind people a sense similar to sight.
• Visit BGR's homepage for more stories.

An incredible new technique is giving blind men and women the ability to identify shapes and objects that are quite literally drawn onto their brains. A research paper describing the technique was just published in the journal Cell, and as ScienceNews reports, it could be a step toward offering blind individuals a way to visually interact with the world around them.

This latest development builds on existing research that demonstrated how electrical impulses to the brain's visual cortex can cause a person to visualize flashes of light. This was promising, as it meant that a blind person could still "see," but simple flashes wouldn't be particularly useful in everyday life.

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Breakthrough technique allows blind people to see shapes and objects originally appeared on BGR.com on Sun, 17 May 2020 at 11:34:56 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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