Blind woman sees light with prototype bionic eye

A blind woman has been able to see spots of light for the first time in 20 years after scientists in Australia performed an implant of a prototype bionic eye that has been heralded as a world's first.

Surgeon Dr Penny Allen (R) and recipient of a groundbreaking bionic eye prototype, Dianne Ashworth

"All of a sudden I could see a little flash,” said Dianne Ashworth, 54, the first woman to be fitted with the device. “It was amazing.”

The bionic eye, developed by Australian researchers, involves the insertion of a device fitted with 24 electrodes into the retina of vision-impaired patients. The electrodes send electrical impulses to nerve cells in the eye, a process which occurs naturally in people with normal vision.

Professor David Penington, from Bionic Vision Australia, said he believed the eye would eventually enable “useful vision".

"Much still needs to be done in using the current implant to 'build' images for Ms Ashworth,” he said. “The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices."

Scientists believe the eye will probably result in images in that are black-and-white but eventually allow patients to move independently.

Ms Ashworth has retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited cause of blindness, It is not yet clear precisely what she was able to see.

"Every time there was stimulation, there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye," she said.

Professor Rob Shepherd, from the Bionics Institute, a member of the consortium which oversaw the project, said the researchers would develop a vision processor to enable images to be assembled using flashes of light.

“We are working with Ms Ashworth to determine exactly what she sees each time the retina is stimulated," he told Fairfax Media.

"The team is looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets this information.”

Though other international medical suppliers have been working on bionic eyes, Dr Penny Allen, the surgeon who led the transplant team, said it was a world first. The procedure for implanting the eye is simple and can be easily taught to surgeons worldwide, she said.

“We implanted the device in a position behind the retina, demonstrating the viability of our approach," she said.

"We didn't want to have a device that was too complex in a surgical approach that was very difficult to learn... What we're going to be doing is restoring a type of vision which is probably going to be black and white, but what we're hoping to do for these patients who are severely visually impaired is to give them mobility.