History
Foerster was the first to discover that electrical stimulation of the occipital cortex could be used to create visual percepts, phosphenes. The first application of an implantable stimulator for vision restoration was developed by Drs. Brindley and Lewin in 1968. This experiment demonstrated the viability of creating visual percepts using direct electrical stimulation, and it motivated the development of several other implantable devices for stimulation of the visual pathway, including retinal implants. Retinal stimulation devices, in particular, have become a focus of research as approximately half of all cases of blindness are caused by retinal damage. The development of retinal implants has also been motivated in part by the advancement and success of cochlear implants, which has demonstrated that humans can regain significant sensory function with limited input.
Read more about this topic: Retinal Implant
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