Published in 2015, the Retinitis Pigmentosa article, provided by The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, defines retinitis pigmentosa as a disease that “refers to a group of inherited disorders that slowly lead to blindness due to abnormalities of the photoreceptors (primarily in the rods) in the retina.”. The article explained what happens throughout the eye of a retinitis pigmentosa or a RP patient.
In the article readers were told how RP only affects the eye. However since most of human functions use the help of the human eye, it can majorly affect their life. The RP can begin at any age, commonly in teenage years and it is usually inherited through family. In fact 100 different genes can cause various types of RP. It affects around …show more content…
Pontz was diagnosed with RP as a teenager and became completely blind at 40 years old. He received the bionic eye surgery in January 2014. The bionic eye, called Argus ll, is basically a pair of glasses with a small camera connected to a small prosthesis in the patient’s eyes. As small as a pencil eraser, the prosthesis fits in the patient’s eye and allows the camera to change electrodes to electrical pulses, allowing the patient to see light patterns. These patterns help the patient distinguish people and objects. Unfortunately, the patient cannot fully see; in fact, they can't see in color but that is still an outstanding breakthrough for someone with no vision. After the four hour long surgery, patients go through a short recovery and a lot of genetic counseling. In the ‘Bionic Eye’ Lets Blind Man ‘See Again’ article, Kari Branham, a genetic counselor, says, “You have to go through the process, kind of like learning a new language. You have to retrain your brain to see and understand those images that it’s seeing.”. Argus ll surgery can come with ‘potential complications’ and is not yet available to the mass
In the article readers were told how RP only affects the eye. However since most of human functions use the help of the human eye, it can majorly affect their life. The RP can begin at any age, commonly in teenage years and it is usually inherited through family. In fact 100 different genes can cause various types of RP. It affects around …show more content…
Pontz was diagnosed with RP as a teenager and became completely blind at 40 years old. He received the bionic eye surgery in January 2014. The bionic eye, called Argus ll, is basically a pair of glasses with a small camera connected to a small prosthesis in the patient’s eyes. As small as a pencil eraser, the prosthesis fits in the patient’s eye and allows the camera to change electrodes to electrical pulses, allowing the patient to see light patterns. These patterns help the patient distinguish people and objects. Unfortunately, the patient cannot fully see; in fact, they can't see in color but that is still an outstanding breakthrough for someone with no vision. After the four hour long surgery, patients go through a short recovery and a lot of genetic counseling. In the ‘Bionic Eye’ Lets Blind Man ‘See Again’ article, Kari Branham, a genetic counselor, says, “You have to go through the process, kind of like learning a new language. You have to retrain your brain to see and understand those images that it’s seeing.”. Argus ll surgery can come with ‘potential complications’ and is not yet available to the mass