A roadside bomb in Iraq nearly killed Marine Cpl. Mike Jernigan, who sustained serious injuries and lost his vision in the blast.
Today he is learning to see again with a new device in development that may restore sight through neural pathways to the tongue.
The Center for Vision Restoration of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh received a $3 million gift this month from Louis J. Fox, a graduate of Pitt.
The gift will enable the center to pioneer research and technology like BrainPort, a system that captures images on a digital camera mounted to sunglasses and sends the electrical signal to sensors on the tongue. In time, users learn to interpret the signals and see their surroundings, albeit in a feeling, sensing fashion.
The Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh is a research and clinical program dedicated to ocular regenerative medicine and improving quality of life for the vision-impaired. Along with the UPMC Eye Center and
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the center’s focus is discovery and development of new cures for blindness and visual impairment, especially for those with problems affecting the retina, optic nerve, cornea and lens.
Through basic and clinical research, it will provide vision restoration through the augmentation of existing visual pathways or by providing vision through non-visual means.
“My heartfelt desire is that my contribution speeds the discovery and development of therapies that will make it possible for people to see again,” says Fox.
Source: Louis J. Fox, Stacey Simon, UPMC
Louis J. FoxImage courtesy of UPMC