It may sound like something from a science fiction novel but the future is finally here.

A man has been able to see again for the first time in 10 years after he was given a “bionic eye” by doctors.

Allen Zderared, 68, was treated at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Surgeons fitted him with a second sight implant, which bypasses the damaged retina and sends lightwave signals to the optic nerve.

He also had an electric chip fitted in his right eye and a special pair of glasses which work together to help him see.

Dr. Raymond Lezzi Jr, an ophthalmologist from the Mayo Clinic, said "I would like to say I think he's a remarkable man, when you consider what he's overcome in dealing with his visual disability."

"To be able to have offered him the retinal prosthesis to enhance what he can already do was a great honor for me," he told Medical New Today.

Mr Zderared from Minnesota can now make out shapes and human form, including his own reflection in a window.

He lost started losing his vision 20 years ago due to a degenerative and incurable eye disease known as retinitis pigmentosa. By 2005 he was blind and had to stop working.