Bionic eye lets blind man see wife for the first time in 30 years

As a large light is wheeled into the room, 66 year old Larry Hester's face suddenly lights up and a huge smile spreads across his face.

The patient at Duke Eye Center in North Carolina is one of the first in the world to be given a bionic eye - and cameras were there to capture the moment he saw for the first time in 30 years, reports the Daily Mail.

As his wife rushed over to hug him, he told surgeons the good news, telling them 'Yes! Oh my goodness, yes!' moments after surgeon's pressed a button, activating Hester's newly implanted bionic eye.

On Oct. 1, 2014, Hester became only the seventh person in the United States to have a so-called bionic eye - an Argus II Retinal Prosthesis Device – activated as a visual aid to send light signals to his brain.

Paul Hahn, MD, a retinal surgeon at the Duke Eye Center, counted backward from three and pressed a button, activating Hester's newly implanted bionic eye.

The device incorporates technology initially developed by researchers then at the Duke Eye Center; its sophisticated features were further enhanced and marketed by a company called Second Sight Medical Products.

Using wireless technology, a sensor is implanted in the eye to pick up light signals sent from a camera mounted on special eyeglasses.

Hahn implanted the sensor on Sept. 10, and activated the device on three weeks later – to the sheer delight of Hester and his family.

See more on the Daily Mail website.