&ldquo;All of a sudden I could see a little flash,&rdquo; said Dianne Ashworth (54), the first woman to be fitted with the device. &ldquo;It was amazing.&rdquo; <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2012/aug/eye_.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 432px; " /> Vision of the future: Dr Penny Allen (left) with Dianne Ashworth, the first person to receive a successful bionic eye transplant conducted by Bionic Vision Australia. Pic/AFP/Bionic vision Austrlia The bionic eye, developed by Australian researchers, involves the insertion of a device fitted with 24 electrodes into the retina of vision-impaired patients. The electrodes send electrical impulses to nerve cells in the eye, a process which occurs naturally in people with normal vision. Professor David Penington, from Bionic Vision Australia, said he believed the eye would eventually enable &ldquo;useful vision&rdquo;.u00a0&ldquo;Much still needs to be done in using the current implant to &lsquo;build&rsquo; images for Ashworth,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices.&rdquo; Scientists believe the eye will probably result in images in that are black-and-white but eventually allow patients to move independently. Feedback from Ashworth will allow researchers to develop a vision processor so they can build images using flashes of light. 39 mnu00a0The number of people who are blind in the world, according to the WHOu00a0

A blind woman has been able to see spots of light for the first time in 20 years after scientists in Australia performed an implant of a prototype bionic eye that has been heralded as a world's first.

Blind woman sees light with prototype bionic eye

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Blind woman sees light with prototype bionic eye

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