Bionic Vision Australia has won $42 million in federal government funding to develop a bionic eye.

The bionic eye under development is a small video camera fixed to a patient's glasses. It will capture images and translate them into electrical pulses that stimulate electrodes attached to the patient's retina.

The impulses stimulate the same area of the retina usually activated by visual cues, and over time the patient learns to interpret these nerve signals as useful vision.

If clinical trials prove successful the instrument will be used to restore the sight of people suffering from conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.

The Melbourne-based BVA consortium comprises UNSW, the University of Melbourne, National ICT Australia, Bionic Ear Institution and Centre for Eye Research Australia. Researchers from the Australian National University and Western Sydney University will also be involved in the program.

A second team, comprising Monash University and Victoria's Alfred Hospital, will receive $8m to develop a device to treat progressive blindness.

UNSW’s Professor Nigel Lovell said the funding meant life-changing bionic vision was now a step closer. "Researchers at UNSW have been working on the development of a bionic eye for 10 years. The BVA consortium brings together the leading scientists and biomedical engineers in the country to advance this vitally important project and this funding will give us the resources to make a huge leap forward," he said.

Professor Nigel Lovell is leading UNSW’s bionic eye research at the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering with Associate Professor Gregg Suaning.

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital hopes to trial a new bionic eye on patients within two years.

Media Contacts
Professor Nigel Lovell, +61 2 9385 3922, Peter Trute, UNSW Media Office, +61 2 9385 1933

Watch a video on UNSW bionic eye research here