First bionic eye to overcome macula degeneration

In July 2015, Ray Flynn, an 80-year-old British pensioner, became the first person to have a bionic eye implanted to recover the sight he partially lost due to macula degeneration. The operation was performed at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, UK.

Macula degeneration is the most common cause of sight loss in the developed world. With this disease, people see a black spot/macula in the central part of the eye; this macula can become larger or stabilise (with the use of appropriate medical drugs), but cannot be eliminated. Because of this macula, people lose their central vision, but they retain peripheral vision. The implant receives the visual information (i.e., the images) from a very small camera mounted on glasses worn by the patient. These images are converted into electrical signals and transmitted to some sensors attached to the retina. The sensors stimulate cells in the retina, which send the information to the brain.