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Bionic Eye Gives Blind Man Sight

Posted by samzenpus on from the all-the-better-to-see-you-with dept.

AmigaMMC writes "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. I wouldn't go as far as claiming he regained his sight, but this certainly is a biotechnological breakthrough."

2 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Re:73 years old? by Abstrackt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Maybe they wanted an older (closer to dead) person to test on because the process wasn't guaranteed to be safe.

    --
    They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  2. Re:73 years old? by sjames · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Since it's an invasive procedure and quite experimental, they may also be considering that getting the 0.8alpha version could preclude getting the more perfected version later. So there's an advantage to a subject that would be too old to undergo an implant by the time the production version is ready. He gets some vision (which beats none) and nobody loses their chance for an even better outcome as a result of the experiment.