‘Revolutionary’ implant enables blind people to seeIn a medical breakthrough that sounds like the stuff of science fiction, blind people have been able to read again thanks to a revolutionary eye implant. The microchip was inserted under the retinas of 38 blind people as part of a landmark global study, the results of which were published this week. “I was an avid bookworm, and I wanted that back,” said Sheila Irvine (main image), who took part in the multi-country trial at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital. It’s not simple, learning to read again, but the more hours I put in, the more I pick up. “In the history of artificial vision, this represents a new era,” said Mahi Muqit, senior vitreoretinal consultant at Moorfields.