New Device Allows Blind To See
Published: April 14, 2006
Some call her the bionic woman, others call her a medical miracle, but Cheri Robertson has given herself another title.
“I just call myself the robo-chick,” said Cheri Robertson.
Robertson is blind, but a new device allows her to see using her brain instead of her eyes.
Years ago, Roberstson lost both of her eyes in a car accident. She was just 19 years old.
“When I realized yes, I am going to be blind, I thought, I guess I’m going to learn to do things a little differently now,” said Robertson.
And she did. Robertson traveled to Portugal to become the 16th person in the world to have special electrodes implanted in her brain. With the help of a device, she could see again.
“Oh my God, I can see. I can see,” said Robertson.
Neurosurgeon Kenneth Smith says the procedure is the first to reverse blindness in patients without eyes.
“They are really seeing. The brain is getting impulses just like when you and I see,” said Smith.
A camera on the tip of Robertson’s glasses sends signals to a computer that’s strapped around her waist. The computer then stimulates electrodes in the brain through a cord that attaches to the head. Patients see flashes of light and outlines of objects.
“Whatever I see is just two splashes of light, so I know something is there,” said Robertson.
Robertson said support from her mom and the local Lion’s Club keeps her spirits high.
“If I was all depressed, I couldn’t affect anybody’s life for the good, and I want to make a difference,” said Robertson.
Friends, family and doctors said she already has.
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