The inability to see, also known as blindness, is indeed one of the most challenging types of disabilities that a human being can face.
However, while some people with this type of disability have been able to record remarkable life achievements that their counterparts with functioning eyesight have achieved, they have to work twice as hard to achieve it.
Scientists around the world have been working hard for decades to find a cure for blindness. In the past, some bionic solutions have been developed, but with very low efficacy.
Recently, Monash University of Australia developed the world’s first bionic eye to restore full vision in blind people. They have built a system through which people who suffer from blindness in any form can see again.
The research group is optimistic that the system will work by relaying signals from the retina by bypassing the damaged optic nerves.
It was determined that the specially designed headgear with the camera and wireless transmitter installed in it must be worn by the user.
According to Arthur Lowery, the director of the Monash Vision Group that developed the bionic eyes;
“The scientific trick is to figure out the large amounts of information, the megapixels of information that come out of the camera, how best to represent it in a few hundred pixels, dots if you will, that are presented on the brain to give the maximum amount of useful information.
“This is similar to the way radar works or the way the brain understands the blurry images of a movie. It’s amazing what you can do with what seems like very limited information.
“One of the keys is that, just like a movie, the visual information updates very quickly, and your brain is pretty good at putting limited streams of information into context.
“For people with severe visual impairment, the bionic eye will restore their freedom and independence.”
This scientific development is intended to be one of the greatest achievements in human history.
