The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved a bionic eye invention designed for people who have retinitis pigmentosa, a rare, hereditary disease that causes cells in the retina to breakdown over time, eventually causing blindness, according to The Atlantic. The device, made by Sylmar, Calif.-based company Second Sight, is called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, and uses "a video camera attached to a pair of Oakley-esque glasses that communicate with electrodes implanted in the retina."
The device currently is available in Europe, and will go on sale in the U.S. later this year. Mark Humayun, a medical professor at the University of Southern California who helped develop the device called the promise for patients "real," adding "we expect it only to improve over time." Article