Blind people can ‘see’ letters traced directly onto their brains

Findings point to a way to bypass damaged eyes and deliver ‘sights’ directly to the brain

man standing at a screen drawing a letter with his fingers

After implanted electrodes stimulated this blind volunteer's visual cortex in a particular pattern, he was able to quickly perceive, and then write, the letter N.

M. Beauchamp et al/Cell 2020

Scientists have developed a new way to create “sights” for blind people.