A blind man in the US has seen his wife for the first time in a decade after being fitted with a bionic eye.
Allen Zderad, 68, began losing his sight nearly 20 years ago when he was diagnosed with a degenerative and incurable eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa.
The grandfather of ten lost almost all of his sight and by 2005 had to end his work as a chemist.
But he was given the chance to restore his vision when surgeons at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota performed a groundbreaking operation, fitting him with a bionic eye implant, known as 'Second Sight'.
The device bypasses the damaged retina and sends light wave signals to the optic nerve.
An electronic chip was also embedded in his right eye, which works in conjuction with a prosthetic device set in a pair of special glasses.
The device was activated last week in front of his wife, Carmen, children and grandchildren.
Dr Raymond Iezzi Jr, the ophthalmologist who led the procedure, said, "This is great for this family. It’s also very unusual for a scientist like me to be able to actually apply outcomes of what we’ve worked on for years to help a patient. That’s very special.”
Mr Zderad is the 15th person in the United States to receive the implant.
Though Mr Zderad's vision is far from perfect - he cannot see features, colours or fine details, such as people's faces - he says he will always be able to recognise his wife.
“It’s easy,” he said. “She’s the most beautiful one in the room."
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