Bionic eye offers gift of sight

Fairfax Australia

Melbourne researchers are giving three blind patients a chance to see again.

For the first time since they lost their sight, three patients given a bionic eye have been able to see their environment.

The Australian patients trialling early prototype devices have been able to locate shapes on a screen after the device's camera was connected with a stimulator to produce an image using 20 electrodes.

Previously, Dianne Ashworth, Murray Rowland and Maurice Skehan had seen only flashes or spots of light as each of the 20 electrodes in their 24-electrode bionic eye were activated for testing.

Bionics Institute researcher Matt Petoe said the results demonstrated the patients had gone from being blind to having low vision.

''It's not just a toy that they have got on their head; they are actually proving, clinically, that they can see what's in front of them,'' Dr Petoe said.

''They are passing tests for functional vision.''

The milestone means patients in the trial have a working system that can convert real-world images into bionic vision, giving hope to millions of blind and vision-impaired people.

Rowland, 51, has been blind since his late teens because of the genetic, degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa, which means he can perceive only a degree of light and dark.

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Bionic eye offers gift of sight