Listen to CBC Interview with Anna Maria Tremonti
Originally posted on CBC Radio ~ Posted Nov 19, 2014
As part of our series By Design, we hear why doctors believe this kind of technology may transform the lives of the visually impaired.
About half-a-million Canadians spend their lives in permanent twilight or total darkness. By various degrees, the quality of their lives is affected by severe vision loss.
Olry Shamir was born with a degenerative eye disease that claimed her vision completely 20 years ago. Now, she has had a cluster of electrodes surgically mounted onto her retina as part of a device expected to eventually allow her to regain an element of sight.
This is thanks to a new device called the Argus II…
To find out more about the device, and discuss potential challenges, we were joined by three guests:
Orly Shamir is the first Canadian to receive the Argus II, otherwise known as the ‘bionic eye’.
Dr. Robert Devenyi is Orly Shamir’s surgeon, and a Professor of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto.
Ryan Knighton is an author and screenwriter. He also has Retinitis Pigmentosa.