October 19, 2009 
Implant technology is based on a small chip that is surgically embedded behind the retina at the back of the eyeball .
Dr Lyndon da Cruz, a surgeon who performed nine of the 30 procedures performed in the embedding of the implant to the eye of blind patients, the so-called bionic eye, gave a lecture on last Thursday in the clinic „Svjetlost“…
As it is known, dr. da Cruz performed first such surgeries in England at Moorfields eye hospital. Operations were carried out within the international project of technology research, known as Argus II retinal implant, which has already proved successful in restoring elemental vision to patients who have gone blind because of, for example, macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
Loss of vision usually occurs because of an eye injury or degenerative diseases. In an attempt to enable the return of vision in these cases, researchers working on the project called Boston Retinal Implant Project have created a bionic eye that can restore sight to people who have lost their vision due to degenerative changes associated with age.
Bionic eye helps people who were able to see before
Implant technology is based on a small chip that is surgically embedded behind the retina at the back of the eyeball. 
Ultra-thin wire strengthens the damaged optic nerve and its function is light and image transmission into the brain where they are processed. Except the built-in chip and wire, there are no other devices in the eye. On the special glasses that the patient will need to carry is a small camera with a transmitter that sends images to a chip embedded behind the retina.
Scientists explain that the bionic eye will help those people who were once able to see because their brain knows how to process visual information. However, those who are born blind, unfortunately, do not have the necessary neurological prerequisites for processing of data obtained through the wire. Also, the optic nerve must be at least partially functional, because otherwise the data can not be fully processed.
Scientists do not give up on progress
The researchers admit that this discovery has some limitations and that it will not restore perfect vision. However, they are 
sure they will help people that much that they will still be able to get a feeling of the environment that surrounds them. With a little luck, the technology will enable the blind to recognize the faces of others.
Lyndon da Cruz, a surgeon specialized in back of the eye surgery who has performed these operations with the help of his team, said the operations were successful and that his patients are recovering very well. He was happy to be a part of a program that developed the technology to return sight to those for whom, until now, it was impossible.
Researchers are not planning to stop on this, they hope to create a pea-sized camera that could be built into the eyeball, replacing natural tissue by artificial technology.
Taken from: www.javno.hr