????去年秋天,，一位個(gè)頭不高，說話輕聲軟語的男人從布列塔尼老家來到了巴黎東部的Quinze-Vingts眼科醫(yī)院,。他就是喬治斯,。一位名叫亞歷山大的醫(yī)生正在等著他。他們?cè)卺t(yī)院走廊里用了兩天時(shí)間學(xué)習(xí)怎樣使用這套系統(tǒng),。（目前這套系統(tǒng)還不能用于在家練習(xí)）,。

????喬治斯戴上了眼鏡，用一根帶子把電腦挎在了肩上,。第一次,，他們先去了走廊。喬治斯移動(dòng)得很猶豫,，腳步蹣跚地向前蹭著,，伸手摸著。他說：“光線太亮了,，我迷路了,?！眮啔v山大將墨鏡插到一臺(tái)筆記本電腦上，調(diào)整了設(shè)置,，然后他們又出去了,。這一次好了一些。沿著地上的黑色圖案,，喬治亞走完了一個(gè)走廊的長度,，甚至還繞過了路上的一個(gè)障礙物。

????吉利預(yù)測(cè)稱,，等到Iris系統(tǒng)2015年末正式投放歐洲市場(chǎng),，每名患者的成本大概會(huì)在10萬歐元左右，另外再加上手術(shù)費(fèi),。雖然這筆費(fèi)用聽起來很貴,，但吉利表示，和失明相比,，花這筆錢還是很劃算的,。芝加哥大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)研究表明，光是在美國,，到2050年,，由眼病和視力問題導(dǎo)致的成本就將高達(dá)7170億美元。

????去年六月,，Pixium公司進(jìn)行了IPO,，從歐洲投資人手中融資近4000萬歐元（約合5300多萬美元）。Pixium并不是唯一一家從事失明領(lǐng)域研究的企業(yè),。從德國到澳大利亞,，許多企業(yè)都在開發(fā)俗稱的“仿生眼”。其中一家名叫“第二視覺醫(yī)療公司”（Second Sight Medical）的美國企業(yè)走得最遠(yuǎn),，它的Argus II系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)于2011年通過了歐洲認(rèn)證,，又于2013年通過了FDA(美國食物及藥品管理局)認(rèn)證。去年11月,，第二視覺公司也成功進(jìn)行了IPO,，融資約3200萬美元。

????雖然Iris與Argus II系統(tǒng)非常類似,，但吉利也指出了一些不同之處,。比如Iris的攝像頭只捕捉環(huán)境的變化，所以它的總體視覺是持續(xù)不斷的,，更貼近真實(shí)人眼的視覺模式,。另外，眼內(nèi)的植入物也可以被輕易移除并更換升級(jí)版。

????該公司的下一代產(chǎn)品Prima將于2016年開始臨床測(cè)試,。Prima的電極比Iris多了10倍,，應(yīng)該可以讓失明者重新恢復(fù)閱讀和識(shí)別面部特征的能力。吉利表示：“病人告訴我們,，他們首先想要的是自主性和安全性,。其次，他們希望能夠認(rèn)出他們所愛的人,，看到他們的愛人或?qū)O子,。”

????由于它是一種合成視覺,，因此它擁有廣闊的可能性,。很快，這項(xiàng)技術(shù)就可以讓用戶“視黑夜如白晝”,。未來的某款設(shè)備甚至有可能直接將一本電子書或電影的內(nèi)容投射到人的視網(wǎng)膜上,。不過拉?梅爾表示，他們目前的目標(biāo)還只是幫助盲人找到一間屋子的門,?！翱雌饋硭坪醪皇呛芎甏蟮哪繕?biāo)，但意義非常重大,。”

????喬治斯也同意這一點(diǎn),。他告訴我們,，前不久在他家附近散步時(shí)，“人行道對(duì)面停了一輛卡車,，我的手杖探到車子下面去了,，所以我不知道車子停在那兒，結(jié)果撞到了頭,。如果當(dāng)時(shí)我已經(jīng)用上了這個(gè)系統(tǒng),，我就會(huì)看到它了?！保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：任文科

????One recent autumn day, Georges, a small, soft-spoken man, traveled from his home in Brittany to the Quinze-Vingts hospital in eastern Paris. A young therapist named Alexandre Leseigneur was waiting for him, and the two spent the day together practicing using the system in the corridors. (The glasses were not yet available for practice at home.)

????Georges put the glasses on and hung a strap with the computer over his shoulder. The first time they went into the hallway, he moved hesitantly, shuffling sideways and reaching out his hand. “The flashes are too bright. I’m lost,” he said. Leseigneur plugged the glasses into a laptop computer, adjusted the settings, and they went out again. This time was better. Following a black band on the floor, Georges walked the length of a corridor and even managed to avoid an obstacle blocking his path.

????Gilly estimates that when the Iris arrives on the European market in late 2015, the cost to each patient will be around 100,000 euros, plus surgery. Though that might sound expensive, he says it’s a bargain compared to the price of blindness. A study at the University of Chicago forecasts that in the United States alone, costs related to eye disease and vision problems will reach $717 billion by 2050.

????Last June, Pixium made an initial public offering, raising nearly 40 million euros (more than $53 million) from European investors. It is not the only company working in this field. Various permutations of what is commonly called a “bionic eye”—Gilly dislikes the term—are being developed from Germany to Australia. The pioneer is an American company, Second Sight Medical, which earned European approval for its Argus II system in 2011 and FDA approval in 2013. In November, Second Sight had its own successful IPO, raising some $32 million.

????While the Iris is very similar to the Argus II, Gilly mentions a few key differences. His camera, for example, captures only the changes in the environment, so that the overall view is continuous, closer to the way the human eye actually sees. The implant can also be easily removed and replaced with upgrades as they become available.

????The company’s next generation product, Prima, will start clinical trials in 2016. With at least 10 times as many electrodes, it should enable people to read and to see facial features. “Patients tell us that what they want first is autonomy and safety,” says Gilly. “After that, they want to be able to recognize their loved ones, to see their spouses or their grandchildren.”

????Since this is synthetic vision, the possibilities are vast. Soon the technology will permit users to see as clearly at night as during the day. A future device might be able to transmit the contents of an e-book or a movie directly to the retina. For now, Le Mer says, the goal is simply to help someone locate a door in a room. “It seems modest, but it’s huge.”

????Georges agrees. He tells about how not long ago he was taking a walk near his home. “There was a truck parked across the sidewalk. My cane slipped under it, so I didn’t know it was there, and I smacked my head. If I had been using this system, I would have seen it.”