- Q. Dearest Rabbi, Long Life. My father who you well know has recently practically lost a lot of his eyesight as you also well know. He is still able to read from time to time, to his great pleasure the Torah during the week. He is considering getting a visual prosthesis that is called a "bionic eye.” He wants to know if it works will he be able to read the Torah again?
A. As described in Wikipedia a bionic eye is a surgically implanted electronic device, that can help people with vision loss. It is also delineated as a visual prosthesis, and is basically a visual device intended to restore functional vision in those with partial or total blindness.
Many devices have been developed, usually modeled on the cochlear implant or bionic ear devices, a type of neural prosthesis in use since the mid-1980s. The basic new idea of using electrical current to electrically stimulate the retina or the visual cortex to provide sight dates back even to the 18th century.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit'a.
Important Numbers
