"Bionic Eye" Operations Successful In Britain

Surgeons in Britain have offered hope to blind people everywhere after successfully implanting "bionic eyes" into two blind patients:

Surgeons have carried out the first operations in Britain using a pioneering "bionic eye" that could in future help to restore the sight of the blind.

Two successful operations to implant the artificial electronic device into the eyes of two blind patients were conducted last week at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, it emerged today.

The device -- the first of its kind in the world -- incorporates a video camera and transmitter mounted on a pair of glasses.

This is linked to an artificial retina, which transmits moving images along the optic nerve to the brain, and enables a patient to discriminate rudimentary images of motion, light and dark.

The BBC previously reported on U.S. and German scientists designing a "bionic eye," but the operations in Britain are the first successful implementations of such a device.

Comments

[dora rice]

SOUND DANGEROUS. THAT EYE MAY CAN SEE THINGS WHAT NORMAL EYES NEVER CAN SEE. IT ALSO IN THE FUTURE MAY CAN DO MORE THAN JUST SEEING BUT ALSO TAKING PICTURES OF IMAGES.

[hershel62964]

If you want to see again, go to the Marion eye center in Marion Illinois, they did both of my eyes with implants and I can see again 20/20. great work they do..

[darcy]

I hope this leads to real help for the blind. Also, i hope it leads to an end to the enslavement of dogs in the service of blind people.

[jubo]

There's hope for Hillary supporters?

[recless]

Hmm, I can see it now. Just with the deaf community who condemn cochlear implants, how long will it be before some pundit of the blind community comes out saying this is a horrible thing and there's nothing wrong with blind people and this is just a way to force blind people to "mainstream"?

[FWerke]

recless: you don't know what the hell you're talking about!

o.k., I can see we need some educating here.

I've been legally blind for 50 of my 64 years with a genetic disorder called Retinitis Pigmentosa, popularly known as "night blindness" or peripheral blindness (but actually have only 1% visual field in the daylight also). With this type of blindness, you have to feel for a door way to find the opening, find a landmark neon sign at night or large signs on buildings in the daytime for orientation, etc. Those long white canes find the obstacles in your path so you don't trip over things, but you have to focus your limited vision far ahead of you, to see the end of a sidewalk so you don't get offtrack and walk into cars in the street.

By the way, "blind" does not mean total blindness except for 6% of the visually-impaired.

Anyway, scientists, doctors and engineers have been working on artificial retinas and the like for many years. However, acute 20/20 vision correction is an extremely difficult technical task which will take dozens of more years to perfect.

But at least they're progressing.

[ernstge]

Ah, you watched Hallmark Sunday night. Yes some in the deaf community have held on to the culture of "Deaf is beautiful". I am here to tell you they are wrong and the blind will not follow that argument. I received a cochlear implant several months ago. After being deaf for 30 years I have returned to normal conversations, watching TV without captioning, listening to music, etc. In short - normal. It is a sin for people to want to keep their kids deaf and graduate high school at a 4th grade reading level. Some future! I don't think the blind think it is great to be blind and part of the "blind culture". This is a great step forward and is now at where cochlear implnts were 25 years ago. It will continue to improve.

[Geauterre]

The first bionic eye implant in history is wonderful news. Now all we have to do is advance a little further, and those who have been so terribly impaired may regain their full sight!

[darker]

At least the Brits are getting some results!

Our researchers collect bizillions and hope not to cure ANYTHING.
WHY? Because then they'd lose all their grants.

Imagine, curing cancer? WHAT??
No way, That's their best CASH COW ever!
Drag out that "research" as long as possible scam all of America doing it.
If there's money to be made in disease, NO CURE WILL BE ALLOWED to happen.

[brainlego]

Exactly, there's more money to be made by keeping people atleast somewhat sick so they'll come back.

[JScott]

They'd rather be researching
new versions of viagra or cures for something they created like 'restless leg syndrome' or new types of botox for plastic surgery, something like that that's PROFITABLE!!!

[badnfluence]

Looks like we have some bona fide geniuses on this board. So let me get this straight, as a cancer researcher, it's in my best interest to *avoid* curing cancer? I should forget about that Nobel prize and guaranteed billions of dollars of income for my research center....all in the interest of keeping my pitiful government grant money?

Good work thinking that one through, Einstein.

[ArabianMonkey]

Fascinating! Modern medicine continues to give incredible hope. This is truly remarkable!

[ChristopheHugo]

...And the device "incorporates a video camera"? I can't wait till we see all the scenes live on one of the networks. The royalties should help pay the patients the surgeons' bills.

[Bart33]

Designed by U.S. and German scientists and implanted by the British.

...aaand meanwhile over here in the States we're still having arguments about whether we're a product of biological evolution, or whether we grew from being planted in a garden. Lovely.

[PJX]

Okay, successful implantation...does it work?

[NC4Obama]

Read the article, sum up is yes but limited atm since its very new. They will continue to improve it and make it able to have better vision. They hope to get to the point where they can make it just the eye ball with 20/20 vision. This wont work on every blind person but it could cure many.

[grannysharp]

Great ! have 16 year old grandchild blind from birth and this would be so great.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention.