Orly Shamir first Canadian to receive 'bionic eye'

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.

What are your thoughts on the 'bionic eye'?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Sarah Grant, Liz Hoath and Celia Grimbly.