6 ms·

Woman recieves world's first bionic eye

66 points by Jaigus 14y ago

Jaigus 14y ago
Wow. I wish more "tech media companies" reported on real tech news like this, instead of all the hyperbole and media gossip of pseudo celebrities in the tech sphere. I feel happy for this woman.
- eckyptang 14y ago
  Try this: http://www.newscientist.com/ http://www.newscientist.com/ Refreshingly content filled.
beambot 14y ago
Slight nitpick about HN title: This isn't the world's first bionic eye. The article was surprisingly good about not making this assertion: Australia's first bionic eye seeing shapes and recipient of the first bionic eye developed in Victoria. Sorry... it just always bothers me when people claim "firsts" without sufficient research or qualifications (ie hedging) -- it tends to marginalize others' groundwork... "shoulders of giants" and all that.
- rrreese 14y ago
  I came here to write the same thing, bionic eyes have been in testing for well over a decade now. More can be read about the various attempts here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis
jofo25 14y ago
Its steps like these that really make me feel like we're living in such an incredible and unprecedented time in human development.
maeon3 14y ago
Slap a computer screen on one, patch it in to a 3rd optic nerve that you install, and where do I sign? The blurring of man and machine begins here today, the bionic eye is just the beginning. I want a bionic GPS system as well.
- randallsquared 14y ago
  In a situation where upgrading might be effectively impossible, I think I'll wait for better gear before installing something in myself.
  - dsr_ 14y ago
    The Geek Code used to have a line about "I'll be the first person in line to get a T3 installed directly into my brain." My actual position is "I'll be waiting for the development of an effective firewall and a few hardware revisions before getting the direct brain interface, thanks." On the other hand, I'm not blind. That could change my opinion pretty quickly, I think.
    - thebigshane 14y ago
      A bit of a tangent, but this awesome song started popping up on Pandora Radio... [http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jonathan_coulton/the_future_soon.html http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jonathan_coulton/the_futu...] [...] Here on Earth they'll wonder As I piece by piece replace myself And the steel and circuits will make me whole But I'll still feel so alone Until Laura calls me home I'll see her standing by the monorail She'll look the same except for bionic eyes She lost the real ones in the robot wars I'll say I'm sorry, she'll say it's not your fault Or is it? And she'll eye me suspiciously Hearing the whir of the servos inside She will scream and try to run But there's nowhere she can hide When a crazy cyborg wants to make you his robot bride Well it's gonna be the future soon And I won't always be this way When the things that make me weak and strange get engineered away It's gonna be the future soon I've never seen it quite so clear And when my heart is breaking I can close my eyes and it's already here
sproketboy 14y ago
Yeah but doesn't make the du.du.du.du sound. :(
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
mikecuesta 14y ago
As someone who lost vision in their left eye during their teenage years from a paintball accident, this kind of news is really, really exciting. It sounds like we're a bit far from this being viable as the patient can only see certain lights and shapes, but it's certainly a great stride.

66 points by Jaigus 14y ago

Wow. I wish more "tech media companies" reported on real tech news like this, instead of all the hyperbole and media gossip of pseudo celebrities in the tech sphere. I feel happy for this woman.

eckyptang 14y ago
Try this: http://www.newscientist.com/ http://www.newscientist.com/ Refreshingly content filled.

beambot 14y ago

Slight nitpick about HN title: This isn't the world's first bionic eye. The article was surprisingly good about not making this assertion: Australia's first bionic eye seeing shapes and recipient of the first bionic eye developed in Victoria. Sorry... it just always bothers me when people claim "firsts" without sufficient research or qualifications (ie hedging) -- it tends to marginalize others' groundwork... "shoulders of giants" and all that.

rrreese 14y ago
I came here to write the same thing, bionic eyes have been in testing for well over a decade now. More can be read about the various attempts here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis

jofo25 14y ago

Its steps like these that really make me feel like we're living in such an incredible and unprecedented time in human development.

maeon3 14y ago

Slap a computer screen on one, patch it in to a 3rd optic nerve that you install, and where do I sign? The blurring of man and machine begins here today, the bionic eye is just the beginning. I want a bionic GPS system as well.

randallsquared 14y ago
In a situation where upgrading might be effectively impossible, I think I'll wait for better gear before installing something in myself.
- dsr_ 14y ago
  The Geek Code used to have a line about "I'll be the first person in line to get a T3 installed directly into my brain." My actual position is "I'll be waiting for the development of an effective firewall and a few hardware revisions before getting the direct brain interface, thanks." On the other hand, I'm not blind. That could change my opinion pretty quickly, I think.
  - thebigshane 14y ago
    A bit of a tangent, but this awesome song started popping up on Pandora Radio... [http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jonathan_coulton/the_future_soon.html http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jonathan_coulton/the_futu...] [...] Here on Earth they'll wonder As I piece by piece replace myself And the steel and circuits will make me whole But I'll still feel so alone Until Laura calls me home I'll see her standing by the monorail She'll look the same except for bionic eyes She lost the real ones in the robot wars I'll say I'm sorry, she'll say it's not your fault Or is it? And she'll eye me suspiciously Hearing the whir of the servos inside She will scream and try to run But there's nowhere she can hide When a crazy cyborg wants to make you his robot bride Well it's gonna be the future soon And I won't always be this way When the things that make me weak and strange get engineered away It's gonna be the future soon I've never seen it quite so clear And when my heart is breaking I can close my eyes and it's already here

sproketboy 14y ago

Yeah but doesn't make the du.du.du.du sound. :(

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

mikecuesta 14y ago

As someone who lost vision in their left eye during their teenage years from a paintball accident, this kind of news is really, really exciting. It sounds like we're a bit far from this being viable as the patient can only see certain lights and shapes, but it's certainly a great stride.