Read about the artificial "eye" for those who are blind.

Certain eye conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration may soon be treated by eye implants. The revolutionary eye implant has actually been in development since the late 1980s and human clinical trials are expected to begin within the next three years. The implant is airtight and made of titanium. It contains a 200-channel chip that sits in the eye socket and has a wire coil which encircles the iris of they eye. A wireless computer-based controller which is outside the body takes care of the data transfer. Glasses fitted with a camera will be worn by patients and patients will carry a small battery powered computer which will read and analyze images and transmit data to the implant. The implant will then use electrodes to transmit electrical impulses to retinal nerve cells. Patients will see hundreds of pixels of data instead of millions of? pixels associated with healthy vision. In addition, patients will need therapy to teach their brains how to interpret the patterns of dots and color.* Andrea Schumann Staff Writer