A team of Australian scientists have just revealed details of an innovative item of technology that could change the lives of millions of people over the next few years. That's because the group of experts have developed a prototype bionic eye that has allowed a blind patient to see the outline of objects for the first time.
Australian patient Dianne Ashworth suffers from severe vision loss due to an inherited condition. However, after she was fitted with an early prototype bionic eye in May 2012, she has had some of her vision restored, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Fitted with 24 electrodes and a small lead wire, the cutting-edge device travels from the back of the eye to a receptor that is placed behind the ear. Ms Ashworth described the sense of exhilaration she enjoyed once the device was switched on in July.
"It was really funny when it switched," she commented. "I didn't know what to expect and I don't know if anyone did know what I was going to see and then all of a sudden I went 'yep' I could see a little flash.
"When the first bigger image came I just went 'Wow,' because I just didn't expect it at all but it was amazing."
The research team has confirmed that it will be monitoring how the device performs over the next few months. In the long-term, however, it may be that this is seen as a major breakthrough for medical science.