Researchers in Australia plan to perform patient tests of a fully functional bionic eye in 2013. The key feature is an implant with 98 biocompatible electrodes that will stimulate surviving nerve cells in the retina. Images captured by a camera are processed by an external unit, then relayed to the implant's chip. This stimulates the retina, sending electrical signals along the optic nerve into the brain where they are decoded as vision. The device will enable people to better differentiate between light and dark, and to navigate around their surroundings.
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