Six people got their vision partially restored thanks to an implant that transmits video images directly to the brain, bypassing the eye.
How does it work? A video camera attached to glasses sends images back to electrodes implanted in the visual cortex of the brain, explains this article in The Guardian.
The study was carried out by specialists from Baylor Medical College in Texas and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Previous attempts to restore eyesight using a bionic eye were focused on implanting into the eye - which essentially required that you have a working optic nerve.
This discovery gives hope to 100s of people living with complete blindness. The technology is still not available to those born with blindness.
The participants were asked to wear the glasses and look at the computer screen. They were able to identify white spots.
For those who participated, it’s a whole new world. The Guardian quotes Paul Phillip, a participant who has been blind for more than 10 years, as saying that when he wears the glasses, he can tell where the pavement meets the grass and where the sofa in his house is located.
The hope is that within this life time itself, we would be in a position to restore partial vision.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)