Blind woman able to read thanks to ‘bionic eye’

A patient diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa has been able to read for the first time in five years thanks to a new ‘bionic eye’ trial in Oxford.

Surgeons at the Oxford Eye Hospital at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital implanted an electronic chip at the back of 49-year-old patient Rhian Lewis’ retina as part of ongoing NHS-funded research on the technology.

Lewis has suffered with RP since the age of five. This use of the 'bionic eye' is the first of its second generation version outside Germany, where the device was made by Retina Implant AG.

Her story was told in full on the BBC2 programme ‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’ this week.