First bionic eye approved

The United States government has approved a bionic eye for the first time to help blind people. It is meant for those with retinitis pigmentosa, but could also be used to treat those with macular degeneration in future. 

Electrical stimulation is sent to the retina to induce vision. Some of the early patients testing the device said they could distinguish boundaries between objects and differentiate light from dark.

Some could read large letters, while for others, being able to match sock colors and detect street curbs were more important for helping them to live more independently.

There are other projects to come up with a bionic eye but this is the first one which has been officially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Read here for a 2010 report on our blog on another bionic eye project.

Click here and here to read more about this device, which is called Argus II.