The device consists of a tiny camera
and transmitter mounted in eyeglasses, an implanted receiver, and an electrode-studded
array that is secured to the retina with a microtack the width of a human
hair. A wireless microprocessor and battery pack worn on the belt powers
the entire device.
The camera on the glasses captures an image and sends the information
to the video processor, which converts the image to an electronic signal and
sends it to the transmitter on the sunglasses. The implanted receiver wirelessly
receives this data and sends the signals through a tiny cable to the
electrode array, stimulating it to emit electrical pulses. The pulses
induce responses in the retina that travel through the optic nerve to
the brain, which perceives patterns of light and dark spots corresponding
to the electrodes stimulated. Patients learn to interpret the visual patterns
produced into meaningful images.
Second Sight’s first generation Argus 16 implant
consists of a 16 electrode array and a relatively large implanted receiver
implanted behind the ear. The second generation Argus II is designed with
a 60 electrode array and a much smaller receiver that is implanted around
the eye.
