Bionic Vision Australia, in collaboration with a team at the University of New South Wales, has unveiled a working prototype of a bionic eye implant.  The system uses an eyeglass-mounted camera and pocket image processor that wirelessly transmit the image to a receiver implanted in the eye.  The implant is a chip with 98 electrodes that directly stimulate neurons in the eye’s retina, which can restore some vision to people with optical nerve problems like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

The company plans to start clinical trials later this year, with normal patients receiving the implants by 2013.

Full press release after the break.

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