The Bionic Eye

Natalie Garcia; Richard Taylor; and Saba Moslehi

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Transcript

Overview

This hand drawn comic starts in grey scale, and transitions to partial color part way through to demonstrate the advances in bionic eye technology.

Cover

The Bionic Eye

By Natalie Garcia, Richard Taylor, and Saba Moslehi

Cover description: A face in profile. A spotlight shoots out from its eye, highlighting the title. The rest of the page is covered in red fissures.

Page 1

Panel 1: “I’m telling you Auntie Margot – this new update should be able to fix the blind spot you’ve had in your eye.” A teenager and her aunt walk down the sidewalk.

Panel 2: Auntie Margo: “Hmm…” An older woman with her hair in a low bun, wearing glasses looks up thoughtfully.

Panel 3: From Auntie Margot’s point of view, a storefront with large glass doors and a big “eye-kea” sign. A black circle blocks part of the store. Auntie Margot: “I dunno Emily, we’ll see. I’m just not familiar with all this new stuff.”

Panel 4: The door opens “DIIIIINNNG.”

Panel 5: An employee sitting at the front desk looks towards the door in response to the sound.

Page 2

Panel 1: “Welcome in! My name’s Reagan and I’ll be your bionic eye specialist for today. What are you looking for?” Reagan is a middle aged man in a button down and vest sitting at the front desk.

Panel 2: Emily: “Hi there, I’m looking for the new bionic eye. My aunt has been needing an upgrade from her previous model.” In the background, Margot considers a bust statue in the foyer.

Panel 3: Four bionic eyes are mounted on plaques behind Reagan. Reagan: “All the models behind me are what we have in stock, ranging from newest to oldest.”

Page 3

Panel 1: Margot looks at the plaques. “Wow, look at this! 15 years ago I couldn’t have imagined anything like this.”

Panel 2: A close-up on a mounted ‘superhero’ eye, partially obscured by a black blind spot showing that the image is framed from Margot’s perspective. “I can’t even imagine how these must’ve started…”

Panel 3: Reagan perks up at Margot’s comment.

Panel 4: Reagan: “Such a wonderful question! Funnily enough, I have a presentation for these exact questions.” Reagan is excited to share, Margot and Emily look skeptical.

Panel 5: Reagan clicks a remote to start a presentation.

Page 4

Up to this point the comic was in greyscale. Starting on this page, the comic has pops of color.

Panel 1: 1764: “The basis for the bionic eye began with Charles le Roy! He was a bit of a weirdo back in his day for zapping people’s eyes with electricity.” le Roy wears a powdered wig and an 18th century coat. He clicks a button to electrocute a patient’s head. The background of the panel is bright yellow.

Panel 2: “But he was onto something! After the shock (literally and figuratively), the patient reported seeing flashes of light in his vision.” le Roy and his patient are shown in silhouette as the patient describes the flashes.

Panel 3: Margot and Emily still look skeptical. “This is the basis for the current bionic eye – but much safer! I promise.”

Panel 4: “Electricity exists naturally in our bodies, especially our neurons. When light arrives at the retina at the back of your eye, a layer of photo receptors convert the light to electricity, and then your neurons – your body’s electrical wiring – carry the electricity to your brain so you can see.” A diagram of an eyeball shows light entering the eye and hitting the back of it.

Page 5

Panel 1: “Retinal diseases wipe out photoreceptors, and were a real problem for people in Charles Le Roy’s time. But luckily for us, we now have bionic eyes – little electronic chips consisting of artificial photoreceptors that are implanted into the retina. Replacing the olds ones!” An eyeball with broken photoreceptors in the back of the eye is replaced with an eyeball with new bionic photoreceptors.

Panel 2: Two researchers work in a lab, “Around 15 years ago, researchers at the University of Oregon began looking into bio-inspired implants to elevate the standard implants of the time.”

Panel 3: “The problem was with the electrodes that linked the artificial photoreceptors to the body’s neurons…The electrodes were a completely different shape to the neurons, their straight lines were just not compatible.” A close up on a computer chip.

Panel 4: Branches of either a neuron or trees stretch across the panel. “Fractals are key to the development of the bionic eye. They’re just about everywhere in nature. As with trees, the branches of neurons are great examples. If you look at the big branches and compare them to the small branches, their patterns look just alike.”

Page 6

“Now lets see those neurons!” Emily looks on as Reagan clicks his remote to see a close-up view of Margot’s eye. There are two juxtaposed images, one of branching neurons, “here are your neurons – beautiful fractals,” and one of a computer chip. “And – wow! This is a really old model you have! The straight lines are so different from the fractal neurons. The new model has fractal electrodes, and they would really help out with your vision.”

Margot: “That sounds great…But what will I gain from the new fractal model? I mean, how will it help my blind spot and my vision?”

Reagan: “Haha, great point! Let’s see some of the details of the fractal model.”

Page 7

Panel 1: “A big issue with the previous models is that most of the neurons wouldn’t attach. The neurons have to attach to the electrodes so they can pass electricity to the neurons. And, less than 20% of neurons adhere to smooth surfaces.” Neurons and electrodes are shown next to each other, but the smooth electrodes barely touch the neurons.

Panel 2: “Neurons like textured surfaces – the texture reminds them of the retina. There are other cells called Glial cells that protect and support neurons by pushing the remaining neurons from the electrode.” Angry glial cells block neurons from electrodes.

Panel 3: “The electrodes of the new model have a surface texture that matches the texture the neurons find in the retina.” Neurons wrap around textured electrodes; glial cells are happy and don’t prevent the connection.

Panel 4: “The neurons really like it when these textured electrodes are patterned to have the same fractal shape as the neuron branches. They thrive on the fractal electrodes. The glial cells thrive in the gaps between the branches. So they are close enough to provide their support without blocking the neurons from the electrodes. This is called fractal herding.” Neurons wrap around electrodes, supported by glial cells.

Page 8

Panel 1: Reagan is shown in greyscale, “That’s where our new model, The Super Herder, comes in. Our older models don’t have as high of an acuity compared to our newest because they don’t herd as well as the fractal design. And some are only available in greyscale.”

Panel 2: Reagan smiles, “In a way, the fractal electrode convinces the neuron that it is interacting with another neuron! So, would you like to purchase The Super Herder? And, if purchased with insurance, we’ll give you a 20% discount at the Bionic ear shop down the street!”

Panel 3: Reagan: “Or if you wait, next year’s model will beam the internet into your eye!” A close up on Margot holding a copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Margot: “Ha! Now, all of this seems too monstrous for me.”


About the authors

License

The Bionic Eye Copyright © 2024 by Natalie Garcia; Richard Taylor; and Saba Moslehi. All Rights Reserved.

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