Telescopic Eye Implants Magnify Life, Help People See Again

Telescopic eye implants have just been approved by the FDA and they’re just as crazy as they sound. It’s literally like attaching a miniature telescope to an eye, magnifying what a person can see by 2.2-2.7 times.

These telescopic eye implants help people with macular degeneration, which is developing blind spots in the central vision of both eyes, see a little better. It’s intended for the elderly and can only be attached to one eye cause people still need the other for their peripheral vision.

But it’s not an easy-as-pie attach a telescope and just magically see again type of surgery, you’ll have to rehabilitate and basically re-wire your brain so it can combine what the two eyes see into one coherent image. Some patients even need a corneal transplant to accommodate for the size of the telescopic implant.

Of course, nothing can make old eyes young again but if surgery is successful, it can lessen impairment from severe to moderate. At $US15,000 it’s kind of expensive, but dude, it’s eyesight we’re talking about here. [CBC News via Engadget]