Chip offers blind singer sight hope

By New York
October 7, 2005

STEVIE Wonder has been tested for pioneering surgery that uses a microchip to restore sight.

The 55-year-old singer, who has been blind since shortly after birth, is consulting a surgeon about having a microchip inserted at the back of his eye. The vision would be limited — he would not be able to see the faces of his wife and children, but he would be able to perceive simple shapes.

"I've been tested and there was some possibility that I could maybe be a candidate," Wonder told the Insider chat show.

The singer suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which he contracted shortly after birth when given too much oxygen in an incubator. Blood vessels on the back of his eyes grew out of control, causing scar tissue to pull at the retinas, detaching them.

The surgery involves planting a three-millimetre, solar-powered microchip near the ganglion cell layer of the retina.

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