‘Bionic eye’ has potential to cure blindness

SCOTTISH scientists are developing an electronic implant that will be capable of curing two of the most common forms of blindness.

Dr Keith Mathieson, from Glasgow University’s Department of Physics, is using digital camera technology to create the ‘bionic eye’.

He has developed a microchip that can replicate the role played by the retina, the sensitive lining at the back of the eye that converts light into a signal that is sent to the brain.

The implant would allow doctors to restore the sight of more than 800,000 people in the UK.

Mathieson has already developed the first prototype of the implant that can turn images into electrical signals.

RICHARD GRAY
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT
[email protected]

Full story: http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1920842005