Bionic Vision (Not an Eye) to Treat Genetic Disorders

Movies and science fiction have expectations that we can slot a bionic eye into the skull much like we would a bionic limb. This is not the case, and Australian researchers are focused instead on bionic vision. Melbourne-based Bionic Vision Technologies (BVT) has been running a clinical trial for a bionic eye since 2018.

The BVT technology is a combination of external input from a pair of glasses connected to an implant in the eye. This innovation is designed with a particular disorder in mind, degenerative retinitis pigmentosa (a genetic condition affecting one in 4,000 Australians).

Associate Professor Penny Allen is the lead researcher of the team running the trial, with four patients implanted with the devices which could be a game-changer.

Read more about the technology here.