80-year-old man regains sight with first-ever bionic eye implant
A British man has had his eyesight restored thanks to an innovative bionic eye implant.
Ray Flynn of Audenshaw, Manchester, whose eye impairment is caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is now the first person ever to receive an artificial retina.
AMD is the number cause of eye problems throughout the UK, which means that thousands of citizens, English and otherwise can eventually see improvement through this seemingly space-age technology.
The procedure took place last month, and the 80-year-old patient is now able to make out shapes even with his eyes closed. Now, the treatment, which runs for about £80,000 and works by transferring video images captured by special glasses into electrical impulses, has allowed Flynn to read the newspaper for the first time in many years.
From here, surgeons plan to implant the device into more patients to prove its broad effectiveness amongst a variety of patients.
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