A new, improved bionic eye has restored some vision to blind people. A prototype was tested on six patients and ‘within a few weeks all could detect light, identify objects and even perceive motion again. For one patient, this was the first time he had seen anything in half a century.’

The user wears a pair of glasses that contain a miniature camera and that wirelessly transmits video to a cellphone-sized computer in the wearer’s pocket. This computer processes the image information and wirelessly transmits it to a tiny electronic receiver implanted in the wearer’s head.

They are working to improve the device, and if the trial is successful, the new device may be available commercially by 2009, priced around $30,000.