Treating Blindness Around the World

OXFORD EYE HOSPITAL, OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND, 23 FEBRUARY 2016: Rhian Lewis, 50, is the first patient in the UK to receive the world"u2019s most advanced "u201cbionic eye."u201d Surgeons at the Oxford Eye Hospital at Oxford"u2019s John Radcliffe Hospital implanted a tiny electronic chip at the back of Rhian"u2019s retina in her right eye as part of ongoing research of the technology. Mother-of-two Rhian, of Cardiff, Wales, was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa "u2013 a disorder that destroys the light sensitive cells called photoreceptors in the retina "u2013 when she was five.She is completely blind in her right eye and has virtually no vision in her left eye as a result of the condition, for which there is no cure.But behind the destroyed photoreceptors she still had an intact optic nerve and all the brain wiring needed for vision, making it possible to restore vision if only a way could be found to substitute the function of the photoreceptors. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)