BIONIC EYE TRIAL RESULTS SHOW SUBSTANTIAL VISION IMPROVEMENTS OVER TWO AND A HALF YEARS Blind participants with retinitis pigmentosa able to locate doorways, avoid obstacles
SEGMENT
Filmed in Melbourne and Sydney | February 2025
Released on Retinitis Pigmentosa Awareness Month
INTERVIEWED
Professor James Fallon,
Chief Technology Officer Bionics Institute &
Head of the Medical Bionics Department, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Penelope Allen,
Head of Bionic Eye Project & Principal Investigator,
Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) &
Vitreoretinal Surgeon,
Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
Dr Ash Attia
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director
Bionic Vision Technologies
Results of the first clinical trial of Australia’s ‘second generation’ bionic eye have demonstrated ‘substantial improvement’ in four participants’ functional vision, daily activities and quality of life over a period of more than two and a half years.
Detailed outcomes from the trial, led by the Centre for Eye Research Australia, Bionics Institute, University of Melbourne and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, were published in Ophthalmology Science.
The findings add to interim results which showed that the second-generation bionic eye developed by Australian company Bionic Vision Technologies provided rapid improvements for four patients with blindness caused the genetic eye condition retinitis pigmentosa.
Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited retinal disease which affects about two million people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of vision loss in working-age people.
The bionic eye comprises an electrode array, designed by the Bionics Institute and the Centre for Eye Research Australia, that is surgically implanted behind the eye. The electrode receives signals from a video camera mounted on glasses, which stimulate the patient’s retina.
Credit: Retinitis pigmentosa fact sheet from Retina Australia
-
Values in Workplace Culture
Professor Sabe Sabesan, is the Clinical Dean of the Townsville Regional Medical Training network incorporating the Townsville Hospital and Health Services and the Townsville Clinical School of the James Cook University and the director of the department of Medical oncology at the Townsville Cancer Centre, Townsville Hospital.
The Professor recently wrote, “Workforce wellness and engagement have become buzzwords in healthcare settings since there is an intimate relationship between staff wellbeing and performance of the healthcare system. Wellness initiatives such as wellness champions and wellness committees have been set up in response to emerging workforce mental health issues. These are largely reactive rather than being proactive in addressing or preventing the root cause of mental health issues.”
-
Journey of an ICU Nurse on International Nurses Day 2025
Kate Leigh is a clinical nurse at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Perth, Western Australia, with seven and a half years of experience in intensive care, having started her career in London as a new graduate nurse. Initially focused on haematology, she found herself drawn to ICU after meeting a confident and knowledgeable nurse during a discharge. Inspired by his expertise and assuredness, Kate decided to pursue a transfer to Critical Care after seeing an internal advertisement that highlighted educational opportunities and professional development programs.
-
Most Valuable Women in Leadership 2020
ANDHealth Co-Founder and Managing Director Bronwyn Le Grice pioneered the unique non-profit industry-led model supporting Australian digital health companies navigate the commercialisation path to institutional investment and international market entry.
