When Allen Zderad, 68, was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa twenty years ago he was devastated.
Not only would the condition rob him of career as a chemist, he wouldn’t be able to see the face of his wife, Carmen, ever again.
There was hope, however, when an ophthalmologist named Raymond Iezzi Jr. had an idea that could help Allen see his beloved Carmen again.
After implanting 60 electrodes into Allen’s eye, the blind patient was given a special pair of glasses which connect to a wearable computer that helps interpret the signals directly into Allen’s optic nerve.
The moment Allen and his wife look at each other for the first time in years is simply beautiful.
While the images Allen sees amount to little more than crude outlines – he says he has no trouble identifying his wife in a room full of people.
’It’s easy,’ Allen told the Mayo Clinic. ‘She’s the most beautiful one in the room.’
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