Life has imitated art. A 72-year-old Hawaiian woman who became blind two years ago, has had a procedure that resembles the 1976-1978 TV series "The Bionic Woman." She has become the first person in her region to receive a bionic eye transplant to see again.
The hospital is not identifying the name of the patient. However, she is the first person in the Asia Pacific region to receive the bionic eye, according to ABC News.
The Japanese-American patient from Honolulu became blind due to a disease called Retinitis pimentosa, an inherited eye disease that causes a slow degeneration of rods in the retina.
The woman could only see a little light before the operation. Her procedure lasted four hours. Although it cannot fully restore a person's vision, it can help him or her to see partially.
Dr. Gregg T. Kokame, president of the Eye Surgery Center of Hawaii, said that the patient was in "very good spirits" after the surgery. Doctors will switch on the device after the patient has recovered for two weeks.
Dr. Kokame explained that the patient will be able to observe "shades of grey" and motion--such as a person walking into a room. However, after recovering for a week she should be able to detect a maximum of nine colors.
Dr. Kokame explained that the "bionic eye" implant might restore vision to patients who were blind or nearly blind. Their "quality of life" will be drastically improved.
Besides the machine functioning as an eye, it also serves as a camera and monitor. Glasses save an image, and then send it to the "eye," which in turn transmits the data to the brain via the optic nerve, according to Pierce Pioneer.
The cost of becoming the real Bionic Woman in the region was a pricey $144,000. But the ability to see the world for the first time in two years: priceless.