Allen Zderad is finally able to see his wife for the first time in more than a decade.
Nearly 20 years ago, the 68-year-old Minnesotan's vision began deteriorating. He was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that currently has no effective treatment or cure, according to the Mayo Clinic. After 10 years, he had lost nearly all eyesight.
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However, a clinical trial using a system called Second Sight has given Zderad the ability to see shapes, make out human forms and even see his own reflection in a window. The video above shows the device working for the first time, as Zderad reaches out for his wife.
"It's crude, but it's significant," Zderad said in the video. "It'll work."
Zderad was the first ideal patient for the clinical trial, which the Mayo Clinic describes as a "bionic eye implant that sends light wave signals to the optic nerve, bypassing the damaged retina. A tiny wafer-like chip was embedded in his right eye, wires attached in a surgical procedure in January, then two weeks later, the rest of the prosthetic device set in glasses was activated."
"It's a bionic eye in every sense of the word," Dr. Raymond Iezzi Jr., who performed the procedure, told KARE 11. "It's not a replacement for the eyeball, but it works by interacting with the eye."
This is just the beginning of the treatment, however. The Mayo Clinic said that more adjustments are necessary, and hours of physical therapy lie ahead for Zderad.