In the 70s two of the most popular TV shows were The Six Million Dollar Man and its spin-off Bionic Woman; they revolved around super-humans who were made super thanks to advanced bionic implants. These days bionics are no longer the subject of fantasy television but a medical reality. The most recent development, bionic retina implants, has the potential to help the 200 000 or so people around the world who suffer from retinitis pigmentosa to see again.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a degenerative eye disease that gradually weakens the light receptors in the eye until sufferers are completely blind. The bionic implant, which is sub-retinal, replaces the damaged light receptors and, according to an article on News24.com, “uses the eyes’ natural image processing capabilities beyond the light detection stage to produce a visual perception in the patient that is stable and follows their eye movements”.