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Factual: Science & Nature

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Answering your questions about life, Earth and the universe

We take your questions about life, Earth and the universe to researchers hunting for answers at the frontiers of knowledge.

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CrowdScience: Could Bionic Eyes Help Me See Again?

Could Bionic Eyes Help Me See Again?

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Could Bionic Eyes Help Me See Again?

CrowdScience takes a look at life with artificial vision

Bobbie Lakhera takes a look at life with artificial vision, investigating the latest technology that’s helping people living with blindness to see again.

Mohammed is from India and he’s blind. He emailed CrowdScience because he wanted to know more about new technologies that could help him see again. Specifically, he was interested in artificial vision - what is it and what does it look like?

Bobbie Lakhera travels to Germany to find out. There, she meets a blind patient called Manuel. He’s about to have a major operation. A computer chip will be implanted into his eye and his surgeon, Florian Gekeler, believes that it will restore some of Manuel’s sight.
 
But what happens if you have no eyes for a chip like this to be inserted into? Bobbie speaks to Dr Nader Pouratian about his brain prosthesis. Because the implant is attached directly to the visual cortex of the brain, it means you could have no eyes or no optic nerve and you could still see with this type of therapy.
 
Whilst both these technologies are limited to black and white vision, Bobbie asks whether one day we may be able to develop systems that give those living with blindness 20/20 vision. 

Presenter: Bobbie Lakhera
Producer: Graihagh Jackson

(Photo: A female iris, bionic eye concept. Credit: Getty Images)

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