There is currently no way to transplant an entire eye. Ophthalmologists can, however, transplant a cornea. When someone says they are getting an “eye transplant,” they are most likely receiving a donor cornea, which is the clear front part of the eye that helps focus light so that you can see.

To date, only people with degenerative retinal diseases have been eligible to receive a bionic eye. Three retinal bionic eyes have been approved for commercial sale: the Argus II developed in the USA, the Alpha-AMS in Germany, and the IRIS V2 in France.

In the United States, the FDA has approved just one commercially available bionic eye system. The device, called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, was developed by a California-based company called Second Sight Medical Products.

What does a bionic eye see? The bionic implant sees a blurred image made from flashes of light rather than a steady visual perception. The flashes of light provide visual information in the form of a basic shape. This basic shape can indicate the height and width of an object and its approximate location.

The process can take as long as six months, but patients find the experience worth it, says Arevalo. “Eighty percent of our patients have improved visual acuity and about 40 percent of them in a significant way,” Arevalo explains.

The device costs about $150,000 and restores minimal vision. Only 15 centers in the U.S. offer the technology, and with competition abroad, Second Sight is hoping its new brain implant could be used by far more pople.

And now, it has managed to offer the gift of vision to a blind man, helping him see once again. In a technological wonder, 78-year-old Jamal Furani lost his eyesight around 10 years ago due to corneal disease. However, a new corneal implant helped in bringing back his vision.

The successful development of a bionic eye has the potential to change lives in a very real, very hands-on way. Restoring even basic sight to those with impaired vision may allow them to become more mobile and independent, and return to them some of the quality of life they lost when their vision disappeared.

It affects about one in every 4,000 people, affecting 1.5 million people worldwide.

Cybernetic augmentations use machines and circuitry integrated with the flesh and bone of the recipient. In most cases, cybernetics must be installed into the body by a trained surgeon—a process that takes 1 hour per level of the augmentation and the price of which is covered in the price of the cybernetic.

But even cooler than the vision enhancement possibilities is the fact that these cybernetic contact lenses can even measure essential biological information from the wearer. The lenses are in constant contact with the body, so they could be used to measure glucose, potassium, cholesterol and sodium levels, among other things.

At the moment, the only commercially available and approved cybernetic eyes are retinal implants. However, cataract surgeries and cornea transplants can replace the lens and cornea if they’re incapable of focusing light rays due to clouding, etc.

Cybernetics are more than just machine implants: they are complex meldings of technology and the living host’s own organs. This allows them to be hardened against assaults that affect other technologies in ways robots and other entirely technological creatures can’t.