World News for Students of English

02-03-2015 15:00

A blind man from Minnesota has been able to see for the first time in 10 years after doctors gave him a device they describe as a bionic eye. This emotional video shows the moment Allen Zderad saw his wife for the first time in a decade.

The 68-year-old began losing his sight around twenty years ago because of a degenerative and incurable eye disease. By 2005, he’d lost almost all of his vision and had to stop working.

“Yes! It’s an interpretation of the shape, of the light that’s flashing!”

But now Mr Zderad is able to see again thanks to this groundbreaking procedure performed by surgeons at the Mayo Clinic.

“It’s the flash and then I’ve got to be able to interpret the changes in that shape.”

“That’s exactly right!”

“Alright, let’s do it again.”

With the help of the bionic eye, he can now make out shapes in human forms, including his own reflection in the window. Mr Zderad was fitted with a second sight implant which bypasses the damaged retina and sends light wave signals to the optic nerve. He’d also had an electronic chip embedded in his right eye which works in conjunction with the prosthetic device set in a pair of special glasses.

“Well, it’s gonna take a lot of training!”

Difficult words: bionic (electronic), decade (10 years), degenerative (to get worse and worse), incurable (not able to be cured or healed), interpretation (understanding what something means), groundbreaking (new and great), flash (a bright light which shines for a short time), bypass (to go around a problem), retina (a part of the eye), embed (to put something somewhere), in conjunction (together), prosthetic device (something which doctors give you to replace your original body part).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com