Scientists envision granting sight to the blind

The medical advance has the potential to help more than 300,000 Europeans whose sight is impaired because the thin layer of tissue that lines the eye and processes images is deteriorating, Belgian Professor Claude Veraart said during a news conference.

"We have implanted (the device) in two patients so far," said Veraart, a professor at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve near Brussels.

A camera mounted on glasses sends images to an electronic device implanted behind the eye and stimulates the optic nerve, which passes the information to the brain.

The technology could also help people with the retinal disease macular degeneration, which can lead to loss of fine-detail sight and which is one of the leading causes of visual impairment in the United States.

Based on the price of hearing devices known as Cochlear implants, which also involve inserting components in the head, the new technology will cost about $26,419 (20,000 euros), Veraart said.

Fifteen independent teams around the world are working on similar technology, but the Belgian project, which coordinates a pan-European effort involving researchers in France and Germany, has had the best results, he said.

EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said the device would eventually be sold on the market.

"This is a very good example where European technology can lead worldwide," she said, adding that the cost of the equipment would fall over time.

The EU, which is spending $4.75 billion on information and communication technology projects between 2002 and 2006, has granted $3.68 million toward research for treating visual impairment.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, wants to increase research spending across the 25-nation bloc to revive stagnant economic growth and stop the brain drain of top scientists to the United States.

Story Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.