Re: Is there a possiblility of installing chips in the human eye to see again?

Dear Siham,

As you probably know, the visual system consists of several relays from 
the eye to the brain. The neuronal analysis of visual information begins 
in the retina, a thin sheet of receptors located at the back of the eye. 
Those receptors are connected with neurons, also located in the retina. 
Some of these neurons, named ganglion cells, project to the brain, forming 
the optic nerve. As I understand, your father’s problem seems to lie in 
the optic nerve. This nerve is part of the central nervous system and once 
it is damaged, it can not regenerate. Because of this, I’m afraid that 
not much can be done with the present case. To talk about the idea of 
installing a chip into the eye, this is indeed a very exciting area of 
research. Recently, some experimental devices have been designed to be 
implanted in the retina. They aim at replacing the (damaged) receptors. 
The idea is that this artificial photosensitive device may activate the 
retinal ganglion cells and therefore send visual information to the 
brain. This requires that ganglion cells and their extensions (axons 
forming the optic nerve) should be intact. Since the doctor told you that 
your father’s problem concerns the optic nerve, I don’t think that this 
implant would be successful. Moreover, this kind of artificial retina has 
not, to my knowledge, yet been shown to be functional and it remains at an
experimental level. Please see a previous answer (ID: 995632584.Gb) for more
information and references about artificial retinas. I also encourage you to 
talk with your father’s doctor in order to know more about the problem and 
about what can be done in everyday life to help him. 

Best regards,
Eric