Health | Bionic eye gives blind man sight. Ron explains how being fitted with a 'bionic eye' has changed his life. A man who lost his sight 30 years ago says he can now see flashes of light after being fitted with a bionic eye. Ron, 73, had the experimental surgery seven months ago at London's Moorfield's eye hospital. He says he can now follow white lines on the road, and even sort socks, using the bionic eye, known as Argus II.
It uses a camera and video processor mounted on sunglasses to send captured images wirelessly to a tiny receiver on the outside of the eye. In turn, the receiver passes on the data via a tiny cable to an array of electrodes which sit on the retina - the layer of specialised cells that normally respond to light found at the back of the eye. When these electrodes are stimulated they send messages along the optic nerve to the brain, which is able to perceive patterns of light and dark spots corresponding to which electrodes have been stimulated. The bionic eye has been developed by US company Second Sight. Implanted chip 'allows blind people to detect objects' 3 November 2010Last updated at 00:49 By Neil Bowdler Science reporter, BBC News Miikka Terho is given the task of reading letters which together misspell his own name A man with an inherited form of blindness has been able to identify letters and a clock face using a pioneering implant, researchers say.
Miikka Terho, 46, from Finland, was fitted with an experimental chip behind his retina in Germany. Success was also reported in other patients. The chip allows a patient to detect objects with their eyes, unlike a rival approach that uses an external camera. Details of the work are in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Professor Eberhart Zrenner, of Germany's University of Tuebingen, and colleagues at private company Retina Implant AG initially tested their sub-retinal chip on 11 people. Some noticed no improvement as their condition was too advanced to benefit from the implant, but a majority were able to pick out bright objects, Prof Zrenner told the BBC.
Electrical impulses. Eyeborg Project - Canadian film-maker's bionic eye. 20 September 2011Last updated at 01:52 By Neil Bowdler Health reporter, BBC News Rob Spence shows how his camera eye works Canadian documentary maker Rob Spence has always loved science fiction. So much so that when he lost his eye six years ago, he took inspiration from some of his heroes. "There are so many characters in pop culture and science fiction that have a camera eye that pretty much anyone who loses an eye at least makes a joke about getting a camera eye. "In my case, I just actually did it. " Continue reading the main story “Start Quote The motivation to put a camera in my eye came partly from being an immature adult who wants to be like the Bionic Man” End QuoteRob SpenceDocumentary maker With the help of a former satellite company employee, he developed a camera which fits into his eye socket, and "eyeborg", as he calls himself, was born.
Shooting accident The original damage to his right eye came from an accident when he was just nine years old. Bionic journey. Struggle as hard as you can for whatever you believe in.