3 blind men given bionic eyes
By: Kathleen Fackelmann
USA Today - July 31, 2001

In a bold experiment to cure blindness, researchers at two Illinois hospitals
have implanted microchips in the eyes of three blind men, officials said
today. 

If the silicon microchips work, they may help 10 million Americans who suffer
blinding ailments such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. 

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0731bionic31-ON.html