Technology is rapidly advancing and it seems that we'll see more medical implants in the future that can enhance our medical condition. Today we have one which will allow blind patients to see once again.

There have been medical implants for the blind before, but what's special about this one is that it will allow completely blind patients to recognise letters, words and objects. Retina Implant AG from Reutlingen, Germany is developing this implant in collaboration with Australian, European, and American university teams.

The subretinal electronic chip contains 1500 active microphotodiodes and each microphotodiode has its own amplifier and local stimulation electrode. These microphotodiodes control the electrical impulses that go up to the brain forming a 38 � 40 pixel grid. This chip has already been implanted on three blind patients, and all of them have reported varying levels of vision.

This little chip is only 3mm in diameter and it can do a lot for blind patients, but so far it has produced only black and white image, but we're positive that we'll see improved version this chip in the future.

[via Gadgetell]