Tiny eye implant could restore sight to the blind - with vision returning instantly, and recovery in just a week



Laser implant can be added under local anaesthetic

Does not require bulky glasses

Will offer black-and-white vision similar to a computer monitor

Enough to watch television and identify faces

Trials to begin in 2013

A revolutionary new eye implant could restore sight to the blind instantly - without bulky glasses or computer equipment.

The 'Bio Retina' will be implanted under local anaesthetic, and will offer black-and-white vision similar to a computer monitor.

The implant's effects will be enough to allow users to watch television and identify faces.

A prototype was made in 2011, and clinical trials are due to begin in 2013.

The views 'seen' through the device: The device is specifically tailored to restore sight to patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts

The device is specifically tailored to restore sight to patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts.

'Bio-Retina incorporates various nano-size components in one tiny, flat implant, approximating the size of a child’s fingernail,' say the company which manufactures the device, Nano-Retina.

'Its simple 30-minute implant procedure requires local anesthesia, a small incision and 'gluing' of the device to the damaged retina,' says the company.



'Return of sight is anticipated to be instantaneous. Recovery time is estimated at up to one week.'

Other implants are already on sale and in use in the UK and elsewhere, but most require bulky computer glasses, and operations under general anaesthetic.

'Systems currently being researched require general anesthesia and a six-hour operation to implant surgically, construct and connect multiple pieces of hardware in the eye, or alternatively, to insert surgically an implant into the eye which is connected to a wire passing through the patient’s skull,' say Nano-Retina.

'Patients wear eyeglasses with an external camera and transmitter as well as a belt with a video processor and battery that charges the system.'



Some of the other devices are built to 'restore' sight in cases of severe injury.



One such device is the creation of Shawn Kelly from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and the result of a decade's worth of research.



It is made up of two tiny cameras attached to a pair of glasses which send images to a computer chip attached to the patient's eye.



The chip turns the images into an electrical current sent along a wire to a film inserted behind the retina.

A computer chip is attached to the eye, which passes on messages to the brain from cameras mounted on a pair of glasses



