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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009, September 24). Stimulating Sight: Retinal Implant Could Help Restore Useful Level Of Vision To Certain Groups Of Blind People. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/09/090923173952.htm The article is about the use of a retinal implant that could restore an individual vision so that they can identify the type of environment they are in. Researchers at MIT are inspired by the cochlear implants success to create an implant that could restore a blind person's vision so that they can identify objects. The research is done by a team of scientists, engineers, and ophthalmologists from MIT, Boston VA Med Center, Cornell, and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. The implant involved placing the implant to the outside of the eye and electrodes within the eye to do less damage. Researchers have developed several working prototypes and used them on pigs for almost a year, although final adjustments need to be made. Scientists are hopeful that human trials can begin so that patients can offer live and understandable feedback to them, so that the algorithm used within the implants can be configured properly.

Medical products company Second Sight developed an optical prosthetic, the Argus II, to be used for those who loss their vision due to injuries or diseases. It's a wireless communication system that's implanted into the eye that will capture images and transmit it to the brain. Second Sight has received funding from the U.S federal government.

There are millions of blind people who are hoping that medical technology would enable them to see the world one day. Well, the day is not far when the use of a bionic eye would be a routine medical procedure, which gives near perfect vision.

Television's Six Million Dollar Man foresaw a future when man and machine would become one. New research at Tel Aviv University is making this futuristic "vision" of bionics a reality.