First use of 'bionic eye' for macular degeneration
July 23, 2015
There is new hope for the millions of Americans with macular degeneration, the most common cause of vision loss.

Action News first told you about this new technology, known as a 'bionic eye', last fall.

Thanks to a new device implanted at Wills Eye Hospital, Fran Fulton of Center City was able to see again for the first time in 15 years.

Fulton has a rare eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa.

But doctors at Royal Manchester Hospital in Manchester, U.K., just implanted the same bionic eye, the Argus II system by Second Sight, in Ray Flynn, who suffers from the more common macular degeneration.

AMD sufferers lose their central vision, so they won't see someone's face when they meet them, can't drive, and have a hard time doing other daily tasks, from cooking to using an ATM.

Here's how Argus II system by Second Sight works: the patient wears special glasses with a camera.

Information picked up with the camera are transmitted to the retinal implant.

Those signals are sent to the brain to interpret.

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Posted by Ken at 1:43 AM