The bionic eye that could CURE blindness: World first as British scientists save the sight of 80-year-old man in astonishing breakthrough that could help thousands

Ray Flynn, 80, from Audenshaw, Manchester, has become the first patient in the world to receive an artificial retina for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the most common cause of eyesight problems in the UK.

Hundreds of thousands of those with the affliction could benefit from the technology, which was previously used only for those with a rare eyesight condition.

Surgeons at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital implanted a chip at the back of Mr Flynn’s eye in a four-hour procedure last month.The retired factory supervisor can now make out shapes with his eyes closed – proof that the system is working. Since he was diagnosed with AMD eight years ago Mr Flynn’s eyesight has progressively deteriorated, until he could only see clearly out of the corners of his eyes. Now the £80,000 procedure has given him back his central vision, allowing him to read a newspaper without a magnifying glass for the first time in years. Surgeons will now insert the Argus II retinal implant into more patients over the coming months to demonstrate that it can work for a variety of patients. They hope that eventually the system will become available on the NHS.

Age-related macular degeneration affects 500,000 people in Britain, 85 per cent of them with the dry form of the disease. It occurs when the cells at the middle of the retina become damaged, resulting in a loss of central vision. The bionic system works by transferring video images, captured by a camera in special spectacles, into electrical impulses that can be read by the brain.

The electronic signals are sent wirelessly on to an array of electrodes placed over the damaged cells at the back of the retina. The impulses stimulate the retina’s remaining cells, resulting in the corresponding perception of patterns of light in the brain. The patient then learns to interpret these visual patterns to regain some visual function. Professor Paulo Stagna (right) from The Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at University Manchester Hospital, checks Mr Flynn's (left) eye

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3169864/Eye-sight-breakthrough-\