Eye diseases to complex to ever be cured?

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Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 6:28 pm

Do you think eye disease/conditions that affect the retina and lead to blindness will never be cured because the mechanics of the eye and their relationship to the brain are too complex?

Obviously cataracts at least in western countries can easily be treated with surgery.



blitzkrieg
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12 Mar 2024, 6:42 pm

Bionic human eyes have already been tested in their early development stages.

The problem is making them viable for human implant and secondly, the technology will initially be so expensive it won't be able to be implemented in healthcare systems and thus won't be affordable for anyone but the rich.

Until then, we have glass eyes. :P



Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 6:53 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:
Bionic human eyes have already been tested in their early development stages.

The problem is making them viable for human implant and secondly, the technology will initially be so expensive it won't be able to be implemented in healthcare systems and thus won't be affordable for anyone but the rich.

Until then, we have glass eyes. :P



I know someone who lost most of his central vision in his left eye due to an accident I think the term for what they call it is a ‘detached retina’. The reason he lost some of his sight is because he did not get it treated in time but he did get his retina reattached with silicone oil in an operation a few months later.

Even though it was a success he has poor sight in his left eye due to all the scar tissue.



blitzkrieg
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12 Mar 2024, 6:55 pm

I went off on a bit of a tangent with bionic eyes, didn't I?

I think your post suggests that there are already solutions to complex eye problems and I assume there will be more progression in this area in the future.



Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 6:59 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:
I went off on a bit of a tangent with bionic eyes, didn't I?

I think your post suggests that there are already solutions to complex eye problems and I assume there will be more progression in this area in the future.



Do you think my friend who suffered a detached retina will get his sight back in his left eye one day?



blitzkrieg
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12 Mar 2024, 7:03 pm

I hope so, but only time will tell how fast treatments for eye problems will progress, or more specifically, how treatable your friends scar tissue will be in the future etc.



DanielW
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12 Mar 2024, 7:17 pm

Medicine is continually advancing, I think we will eventually be able to grow replacement parts for everything eventually. it doesn't seem an unrealistic goal.



Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 7:21 pm

DanielW wrote:
Medicine is continually advancing, I think we will eventually be able to grow replacement parts for everything eventually. it doesn't seem an unrealistic goal.



Does playing video games on a TV screen look a lot different with one functioning eye?



DanielW
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12 Mar 2024, 7:23 pm

I would imagine so, People with one eye often have trouble with depth perception...but I don't really know as I still have 2 eyes myself.



Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 7:31 pm

DanielW wrote:
I would imagine so, People with one eye often have trouble with depth perception...but I don't really know as I still have 2 eyes myself.


How might problems with depth perception effect playing video games?



DanielW
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12 Mar 2024, 7:45 pm

I would think not being able to tell how near or far something is from you might make things more difficult.



Jamesy
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12 Mar 2024, 7:49 pm

DanielW wrote:
I would think not being able to tell how near or far something is from you might make things more difficult.



There is the option of using tv zoom might correct that issue though



DanielW
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12 Mar 2024, 7:53 pm

that would only make a smaller portion of the field of view larger - I think not seeing the whole screen might be an issue as well.



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12 Mar 2024, 8:16 pm

blitzkrieg wrote:
. . . so expensive it won't be able to be implemented in healthcare systems and thus won't be affordable for anyone but the rich . . .
How does this differ from our current situation?


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blitzkrieg
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12 Mar 2024, 8:20 pm

Fnord wrote:
blitzkrieg wrote:
. . . so expensive it won't be able to be implemented in healthcare systems and thus won't be affordable for anyone but the rich . . .
How does this differ from our current situation?


Well, I did say "initially". I imagine eventually, any or many technologies that are in demand from healthcare systems will become available when the technology becomes so commonplace that it is easy to mass manufacture.



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13 Mar 2024, 1:52 am

Yeah one eye missing would definitely make a difference when you're playing video games. A friend of mines brother lost an eye through a shooting accident when he was out hunting rabbits. This was way back in the 1980s. They gave him a glass eye. Not sure if he went hunting again but I suspect it would have been difficult for him if he did.


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