Implants raise hope of restoring eyesight

A radical new approach to “bionic eye” implants holds out the hope of restoring near-normal sight to the blind, scientists claim.

Researchers have dramatically boosted the performance of retinal implants by cracking a “code” that communicates visual signals to the brain.

The code consists of specific patterns of electrical pulses. By incorporating it into their device, the scientists came close to restoring normal vision in totally blind mice lacking any light-sensitive cells.