Sight-restoring visual prosthetic and method using infrared nerve-stimulation light

A system to aid in treating a vision problem of an eye of a person, wherein the eye has a retina having at least one functional nerve layer, and wherein at least part of the system is immediately in front of the eye of the person, the system comprising:

• an ocular implant adapted to be implanted at least in part within the eye of the person, wherein the ocular implant has a light-receiving anterior end closest to the eye's anterior surface, and extends to a posterior end that is closer to the eye's fovea than to the eye's anterior surface;
• at least one imager that obtains a temporal sequence of images of a scene and converts the sequence of images into digital-image signals, the at least one imager having a field of view facing away from the person;
• an image-processing unit that is operatively coupled to the at least one imager, that processes the digital-image signals, and that generates a series of optical-source-driving signals based on the digital-image signals;
• and
• an optical source configured to receive the optical-source-driving signals and to generate pulsed infrared-light (IR) nerve-stimulation optical signals having wavelengths between 1800 nm and 1900 nm and a pulse width between 1 microsecond and 8 milliseconds, the optical source configured to emit and to direct the pulsed IR nerve-stimulation optical signals into the ocular implant, wherein the ocular implant is configured to transmit the IR nerve-stimulation optical signals through an inner portion of the eye and onto the at least one functional nerve layer of the retina, and wherein the IR nerve-stimulation optical signals produce optical nerve-action-potential signals directly in nerve cells other than rod cells or cone cells, in order to produce a vision sensation to the person.