Bionic eye implants make blind 'see again' in pioneering operation
By JENNY HOPELast updated at 23:52 21 April 2008
Two blind men who thought they would never see their families again have had vision restored by Britain's first "bionic" eye operations.
Electronic receivers were implanted which take signals from a camera mounted in a pair of glasses.
The technology allows enough vision to find doorways, follow individuals, locate objects across the room and help with eating.
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Bionic eye patient Linda Moorfoot: 'I can watch my granddaughter dancing. I can see...'
It gives new hope to sufferers of diseases affecting the retina for which there is no cure.
Surgeons at Moorfields Eye Hospital in central London implanted the artificial retinal devices as part of a Europeanwide clinical trial.
The identity of the two patients, thought to be in their 50s, is being kept secret.
The trial aims to assist those with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic eye diseases affecting the retina which cause progressive loss of vision over decades.
The camera and transmitter in the glasses send a wireless signal to the ultra-thin electronic receiver and electrode panel which are attached to the retina.
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The electrodes stimulate the remaining retinal nerves, allowing a signal to be passed along the optic nerve to the brain.
In the brain, patterns of light and dark spots are perceived which give a basic level of vision to the patient, who is able to be more mobile and independent as a result.
A wireless microprocessor and battery pack worn on the belt powers the entire device.
American Linda Moorfoot was totally blind for more than a decade before becoming one of the first patients to test the new technology.
She told Sky News: "When I go to the grandkids' hockey game or soccer game I can see which direction the game is moving in.
"I can shoot baskets with my grandson and I can watch my granddaughter dancing across the stage. I can see ... things! It's wonderful."
The British operations were carried out last week by consultant retinal surgeon Lyndon da Cruz and his team at Moorfields, under the supervision of American colleagues who developed the device with the company Second Sight in the U.S.
Mr da Cruz said: "Moorfields is proud to have been one of only three sites in Europe chosen to be part of evolving this exciting new technology.
"The devices were implanted successfully in both patients and they are recovering well from the operations."
The U.S. developers are now trying to shrink the camera so it will be small enough to be implanted into an eyeball.
They predict these pea-sized video cameras could be ready to be used in surgery in three to five years.
David Head, chief executive of the British Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, said: "These are significant advances and in conjunction with the advances being made in stem-cell therapy and gene therapy, make for really exciting times as we work to translate science into treatment."
Professor John Marshall, chairman of the society's medical advisory board, said: "It is very good news that devices have been developed and some individuals have had these inserted.
"However, the public should not run away with the idea that this is going to be routine surgery in the immediate future because there is an enormous amount to learn."
