By Brian Koerber2015-02-23 16:42:58 UTC Allen Zderad is finally able to see his wife for the first time in more than a decade. Nearly 20 years ago, the 68-year-old Minnesotan's vision began deteriorating. He was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that currently has no effective treatment or cure, according to the Mayo Clinic. After 10 years, he had lost nearly all eyesight. However, a clinical trial using a system called Second Sight has given Zderad the ability to see shapes, make out human forms and even see his own reflection in a window. The video above shows the device working for the first time, as Zderad reaches out for his wife. "It's crude, but it's significant," Zderad said in the video. "It'll work." Zderad was the first ideal patient for the clinical trial, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a "bionic eye implant that sends light wave signals to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina. A tiny wafer-like chip was embedded in his right eye, wires attached in a surgical procedure in January, then two weeks later, the rest of the prosthetic device set in glasses was activated." "It's a bionic eye in … Continue reading →

A 68-year-old Minnesota man was able to see his wife for the first time in a decade last week after becoming the fifteenth person in the country to receive a "bionic eye" implant. Allen Zderad's career as a chemist ended 20 years ago when his sight began to fail as a result of a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, according to a statement from the Mayo Clinic. Raymond Iezzi Jr., a Mayo Clinic researcher and ophthalmologist, was researching the "Second Sight Argus II" retinal prosthesis system when he encountered Zderad and decided the grandfather of ten would be a good candidate for an implant. Iezzi installed 60 electrodes in Zderad's eye, which interact with a camera in Zderad's glasses and a wearable computer pack to send information to the electrodes implanted in his retina, which then sends signals straight to the optic nerve, Iezzi explained to NBC affiliate KARE. "This is great for this family. It's also very unusual for a scientist like me to be able to actually apply outcomes of what we've worked on for years to help a patient. That's very special," Iezzi said, according to a statement from the Mayo Clinic. Zderad still can't see … Continue reading →